Misplaced
by Rikkoshaye
Summary: What would you do if your Playstation blew up and you suddenly found yourself face to face with seven strangers? More importantly, what would they do? And you can't forget all that Forbidden Machina... [All Chapters Updated]
1. Not in Spira Anymore

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Not in Spira Anymore -**

"Hey! Wake up! Hello?"

"Is she dead?"

"No, just knocked out, I think."

"Ow..." Moaning softly I opened one of my eyes, pain everywhere. My hands felt burnt and my head was pounding, my back aching from some fall and my eyes watering from the sudden light they had pouring into them. I detected the smell of something burning too, but it didn't really register. The pain was currently taking up most of my attention. Blinking I tried to clear the film from my eyes with the tears that had begun to form at their corners. What had happened?

"Maybe you should roll her over."

"But it might hurt her..."

"Well then poke her or something, we can't stand here all day!"

To my annoyance something promptly started to poke me in the back. Moving downward the poking started nudging some particularly tender flesh, which moved my annoyance up a few notches. Letting out a mad grunt I lifted a hand and batted half-heartedly at whatever was poking me. To my surprise, it stopped.

"Hey guys, she moved!"

"Not dead then, ya?"

"No kidding, Wakka."

_'Wakka...' _I thought dully. _'That's an odd name...' _Vision finally clearing, I managed to shift the eye that wasn't mashed into the carpet upwards without much difficulty. My headache was beginning to die down and my hands didn't hurt so much anymore, although an aching pain still reminded me that they needed some attention.

But that, of course, was when I noticed the shoe.

"Hey..." I managed to choke out, voice raspy. "You can't wear shoes in the house..."

_'Wait a second.' _I thought suddenly, _'shoes are connected to feet. And feet are connected to...'_

And then everything clicked.

"AAAHHHHHH!!!!" Letting out a blood-curdling scream I jumped to my feet, panting. My mind was instantly on the alert and I lurched forward, confused. But unfortunately, after getting a mild concussion, it's not exactly the best idea to jump up quickly and go staggering toward strangers.

"Ooh..." Head pounding I stepped backwards, the room swirling. My stomach rebelled against me and I felt that sickened sensation crawl up my throat, threatening to burst out. Taking another step back I fought the feeling, closing my eyes and trying to steady myself. But as the feeling began to pass I noticed my foot was ankle deep in a pile of something behind me. Which then led me to looking to see what it was I had stepped in.

"Oh... my..." Pain forgotten I leaned down to the blackened mess slowly, running my fingers around the mangled, smoking edges.

"My TV. My Playstation! The carpet!" I gaped at the mess, realization dawning on me. "Mom's gunna kill me!" Chunks of metal littered the floor, all smoldering in one huge blackened heap. The burnt smell hung low and heavy in the air, a black smog starting to form in the room. "It was raining so hard outside, and then there was a flash… that must have been my Playstation blowing up, or something… It must have knocked me out..."

"Uh, hello? Did you forget about us?"

Already in a state of shock, I almost passed out as I heard the voice behind me. Turning slowly I faced the person, certain the situation wasn't going to get better anytime soon.

"Okay. I'm dreaming." I mumbled to myself, eyes wide. "This is all a dream. And I'm going to wake up now..." Closing my eyes tight I waited to wake up. And waited. And waited.

I wasn't going to wake up.

"Uh, are you okay?"

Slowly I reopened my eyes. They were still there. All seven of them. And slowly, cautiously, one of them stepped forward.

"Um, sorry to bug you while your having this mental breakdown and all, but could you tell us where, exactly, we are?"

Laughing a crazy, maddened laugh, I looked the person that had addressed me straight in the eye.

"Oh yeah, Tidus, I can tell you where you are." Pointing at each person I laughed again, feeling like a madman. Or a madwoman, you could say. "And I can tell Yuna, Rikku, Auron, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri where they are too."

Looking very surprised and taken aback, the seven people that stood before me all moved back a little. After a moment of surprised staring Yuna stepped forward cautiously, swallowing heavily before looking me in the eye. I was sure they all thought I was insane, and currently, I agreed wholeheartedly. There was no way these people could be in my house. No way!

Or was there?

"Well, um, where are we then?" Yuna asked quietly, trying not to offend me. I laughed my insane laugh again, my vision beginning to blacken at the corners.

"Welcome to the U.S., guys, 'cause you 'aint in Spira anymore!"

And then, as if on cue, I passed out.

- - - - -

Oh no, what the heck is going on? What are the Final Fantasy X crew doing out of Spira? How did they even _get_ here? Stay tuned…

**Rikkoshaye**


	2. Forbidden Machina

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Forbidden Machina -**

"Oooh..." Waking up I swallowed thickly, moaning as my body began bombarding me with aching sensations. I began moving my hand, which I realized was tingling from being pinned under my body. For how long, I wasn't exactly sure. But if it was tingling… well, it had to have been a while. Opening my eyes I found myself in my kitchen, laying on the wood floor. A rather dirty wood floor, I might add. Wondering lazily who was the last person to sweep I yawned, blinking until my eyes eased back into focus.

"Hey, how'd I get down here..." I mumbled, shaking my hand forcefully to get rid of the pins and needles feeling that was currently crawling up my arm. Rolling over I lifted my head a little, shaking off the loose crumbs that had accumulated in my hair while I was 'sleeping.' Squinting I tried to remember how, exactly, I had gotten on the floor in the first place.

"Guys, she's up, ya?"

Oh, yeah.

Blinking I looked upwards, just to find a large, hairy tuft of blue fur hanging in my face.

"Oh, ew..." I mumbled, pushing it away. My mind was still foggy, and I wasn't sure exactly where this tuft of fur was coming from. Unfortunately, when it was replaced by a big, furry, blue cat-like head, my mind decided it was time for me to remember. I gasped, drowsiness immediately gone.

"Sorry. Kimahri wasn't watching tail."

Letting out a loud squeaking noise I sat up quickly, heart in my throat.

_THUNK_

"Ow..." I rubbed my head absentmindedly, tears welling up in my eyes. Apparently I had been 'sleeping' under the kitchen table, which wasn't a good thing when I suddenly decided it was time to get up. Now I had a headache again, just as my other one had apparently begun to fade. My lucky day.

Giving my skull one last rub I set my hands down on the floor, crawling out from under the table. Giving the large blue cat a horrified stare I swallowed another scream, opting instead to get up on my feet and observe the current situation. I now knew this obviously wasn't a dream, and that my current view on reality was about to go right out the window.

Hoisting myself up I was met with Yuna, who was looking at me with obvious concern. Fighting a second urge to scream I swallowed again, harder this time. Better to be nice then to go into loud, hysterical fits of fear. Raking my brain for something to say I stuttered until my tongue decided to cooperate with me, spitting out the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey… uh… what's up?"

Yuna's eyes squinted at my odd question as she stared at me, confused. Swallowing yet again my jaw clamped shut, refusing to elaborate on the meaning of the statement. Thinking for a moment Yuna fidgeted, rubbing her hands together. Finally realization dawned in her eyes as she smiled at me, finally understanding.

"My name's Yuna."

Well, almost understanding.

Biting her lip Yuna fidgeted again, her feet shifting back and forth as she rubbed her hands together more forcefully. Opening her mouth and closing it a few times her face began to darken in embarrassment. Leaning in close to me she mumbled something near my cheek, face turning crimson as she said it. Unfortunately, I didn't catch what she said.

"What did you say?" I whispered, leaning closer myself. Apparently what she wanted to tell me wasn't something she wanted anyone else to hear.

Grimacing she looked around once more and then leaned in again, this time next to my ear.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Laughing a little I shook my head, oblivious to the others around me. From how she was acting I thought she was going to tell me that she was having more female-like problems, or something of that sort. But, being that I was talking to a game character, who knew what was embarrassing or not where she came from? If she came from anywhere at all, that is. My mind was still set on believing that none of this was real, even if the evidence was becoming more and more apparent by the minute.

Walking down the hall I herded her to the bathroom and she followed quickly, face still a burning, beet red. I wasted no time opening the door and ushering her in, checking the toilet before she reached it to make sure there wasn't anything still left in there from a time before.

"Here you go. Make sure to flush, okay?" I said, voice not even quivering. I was in shock over the whole situation, and so being anything but fairly normal was obviously out of the question. Walking out of the bathroom I grasped the door, smiling at her as I began to close it.

"Flush?" Yuna poked her head out of the door before it closed, looking at me in a puzzling way. My eyebrows furrowed at her odd question.

"Yeah. You know, the toilet?" Now it was Yuna's turn to mirror my confused look as she glanced left and right, looking around suspiciously.

"Where?"

I slapped myself mentally, eyes closing as I sighed. I couldn't believe this, she didn't know what a toilet was. Deciding to be polite I pursued her question, making sure my analysis was correct.  
"What, don't you have toilets in Spira?"

Yuna's eyelids narrowed, mingling with her furrowed brows. This made her look even more confused then before. Which she probably was, I observed.

"No..."

Now I was afraid to ask anything more. But my curiosity had been aroused and now I _had_ to know. So, I continued our conversation.

"Well, then, where do you... go?"

Yuna looked down the hall and to the right, eyes focusing out window that framed the front door. Inclining a head toward some of the trees and bushes her eyes locked with mine, willing me to process the information she was trying to convey to me.

"Some places, like Bevelle, have a designated areas, but usually..." She elaborated, trailed off and letting my brain fill in the rest.

Sighing I realized that I was going to have to teach her how to use the 'porcelain express.' Stalking over to the toilet I pulled her close, yanking her away from the door and jerking my head in the toilet's general direction. Pointing to the water I looked at her, making sure she was watching.

"Look. You sit on here..." I motioned to the seat with a few fingers, making sure she understood exactly where she was supposed to sit, "and then you... uh... relieve yourself."

After a moment of intense thinking Yuna nodded, face relaxing.

"Then you just flush the stuff down." I pushed down the handle, flushing the toilet to show her.

Looking over at Yuna's face I expected to see her nodding in approval, or maybe even her eyes filled with joy over this new (and better) way to flush your waste away. But instead I saw her backing up slowly, staring at the toilet like it was some sort of monster. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she hit the wall, her tongue finally cooperating with her after getting over the initial shock.

"What? But that's… that's FORBIDDEN MACHINA!" She screeched, setting herself flat against the wall. My mouth dropped open at this comment as the sounds of feet began padding their way into the bathroom. A few seconds later everyone (except Auron) had rushed into the little half room, eyes wide with fear.

"What? Where's the machina?" Wakka said, glancing back and forth suspiciously. His hands were up in fists and he was bouncing back and forth in a fighting stance, ready to fight whatever machine had sent Yuna screaming. Rolling my eyes I demonstrated the flushing process again, which in turn caused everyone to step back in surprise.

Well, everyone except Tidus. He looked positively delighted.

"A toilet! I haven't seen one of these since Zanarkand!" Tidus cried, scooting over to the toilet and stroking it like it was an old lover. Flushing the machine with delight he laughed, obviously having the time of his life. He then promptly shoved me out of the way so that he could get a good look at the white, shiny porcelain and drool all over it's smoothness.

Rolling my eyes at him and backing away slowly I then left the group, letting them all inspect the 'machina' as they saw fit. Why a toilet could be fascinating to anyone was beyond my understanding, but if they wanted to sit there and touch it that was their business.

Walking back into the kitchen I stretched, trying to block out Tidus's horribly suggestive laughing noises that were now emanating from the bathroom. Rearranging the salt and pepper shakers that somehow had knocked themselves over while I was 'sleeping,' I wondered vaguely where Auron had gone. But, I didn't have to look far. Lounging on the couch in the living room the man looked positively bored. Staring at him momentarily an idea suddenly blossomed in my subconscious, quickly making itself known to my brain.

The whole time I was playing FFX, I always had one question. One thing that I always wanted to know, yet could never find out. And now it dawned on me that this was my chance.

Walking up behind Auron I took a deep breath. I saw his head turn slightly at my intake of breath, his eyebrow raising at the sound. Seeing me in the corner of his eye his mouth opened slightly, getting ready to speak. But, before he could say anything, I grabbed his empty sleeve, pulled it up to me nose, and took a deep breath.

Needless to say, he wasn't very happy.

"What the hell!?"

Standing up quicker then anyone his age ever should, Auron backed up quickly, looking at me like I was crazy. His eyes narrowed as he looked me over, hand instinctively going to his side. Probably where his sword usually hung, I realized. Blushing I turned away, embarrassed at my actions. But at least now I had my answer.

He smelled kind of like sweat, but in a good way. And kind of like fresh earth too, plus something else. Maybe… pine? He smelled good, actually. It all worked together. But now I had to explain the whole situation to him, and he probably wouldn't like my explanation.

Blushing even more my mouth moved up and down, but nothing came out. Forcing my tongue to move I tried to explain while Auron stood there, looking extremely annoyed.

"Sorry… um… well… you see…"

Laughing a little I shuffled my feet, watching as Auron's face became positively pissy.

"Hey, Auron, you have got to try that! It's just like in Zanarkand!"

Auron's face reverted back to normal as he grunted, responding to Tidus's giddy remark. Looking at me warningly he sat back down on the couch, going back into his trance. Sighing I turned away, relieved. Saved by Tidus, you could say. Thank God the blonde was so obsessed with toilets…

Walking over to the kitchen table I sat down, deciding I had done enough damage for now. My brain was still trying to comprehend how these people could possibly be in my house, but I decided not to dwell on it much, at least not yet. All I knew was that they were here, and for the moment I would have to deal with it.

Sighing I continued to sit there, waiting for everyone to drift out of the bathroom. They all seemed amazed, to some degree anyway. Last of all was Yuna, the sound of a toilet flushing as she came out. She looked very relieved, and much less fidgety.

Watching as they all filed around me I looked up at them, wondering what exactly they were waiting for. Silence began to stretch between us and I looked away, deciding to speak.

"So, guys..." I said, as they all stood around me. Uh..."

"Kimahri hungry. Kimahri want food." Glancing upward again I looked into the big cat's eyes, his arms crossed, tail twitching. Staring at him my brain slowly processed his request, the shock of all these people seriously slowing down my thought process. Finally my mind snapped to the present and I sat up straighter, my own stomach giving a small rumble.

"Oh!" I said, looking toward the fridge. "I can do that."

Walking past the expectant faces and making my way toward the fridge I opened it, a wave of cold air rolling out. My legs were covered momentarily with gooseflesh while I stuck my head inside the door, looking around for a decent meal for my seven 'guests.'

"Huh..." I muttered, poking a container of mustard. "There isn't much here..."

"The food stays cold without ice, ya?" I jumped, looking behind me.

"Wakka! Don't DO that!" I said, giving him a look. I leaned back into the fridge, moving a rotten head of cabbage out of my way. He stood there, as if waiting for an answer.

"How does the food stay cold?" He asked, almost timidly. I sighed and rolled my eyes, straightening back up as I looked for food on the top shelf.

"A machine, I suppose."

But apparently that was the wrong thing to say. A sharp intake of breath sounded behind me as Wakka stepped backward, smacking into the counter and grabbing the wood with a death grip.

"MORE FORBIDDEN MACHINA?"

My shoulders drooped as he said this and I sighed, once again. _'Is he going to do this for every machine in the house?'_ I asked myself, rolling my eyes. Feeling enough embarrassment for the both of us I promptly ignored everyone else and focused my attention on Wakka. I had only known him for a few moments and he was already getting on my nerves.

"Look, Wakka. There is going to be a lot of 'forbidden machina' in this house. But I swear, none of it is going to hurt you! Okay?" He looked at me, eyes unconvinced.

And then, of course, the refrigerator light decided to go out. And it didn't just darken with a small click, like normal lights. Oh no. Instead had to blast apart, shards of thin glass ricocheting in every known direction. Wakka let out a muted yell, backing up and getting into a fighting position.

"Not going to hurt me, ya? That is just like you! YOUR AN AL-BHED, YA!" I looked at him, unbelieving. _This guy is impossible…_

Glaring at the cowering grown man I straightened, rubbing my forehead with twitching fingers. The others seemed to be watching with curiosity, but were doing nothing to stop his tantrum. _This must happen often… _I thought to myself. This was definitely not improving my mood. I growled a little in the back of my throat, and turned back to Wakka.

"Look, Wakka, I'm am not an 'Al-Bhed.' If you want to know the truth, there is no such thing! Alright!?" My voice rose at the end of the sentence, turning into a soft yell aided by some rigorous hand movements. Staring at me Wakka tried to come up with a response, his eyes narrowing slightly and his face becoming quite red. But luckily, someone else intervened.

"Hey!"

Turning my eyes from Wakka I looked toward the sound of the voice, a tinge of annoyance wallowing around in my gut. Walking up to us Rikku glared, hands on her hips and face fixed in an angry scowl. "There are too Al-Bhed!" she said, her voice full of anger and hurt.

"Well, okay, I know that… your…" Trailing off in mid-sentence I turned my gaze back to Wakka, and then around to Rikku once again. A sudden thought slithered across my brain and I stopped a moment, thinking on it.

'_What if all these people were somehow… pulled right from my current FFX game?' _Eye twitching my eyebrow furrowed at this thought, the back of my brain suddenly pitching into my mental conversation. _'That's impossible and you know it…. Or is it? They are all physically here, and that is also quite impossible.' _Mumbling to myself I turned from Rikku and Wakka, who were now obviously wondering what exactly I was doing. Ignoring them I continued on my thread of thought

'_Well, let's just say that they _were_ somehow pulled from my current FFX game. That means that they would have currently been going through the Thunder Plains. Therefore, they would have no knowledge of what is to come. Which means, Wakka doesn't know that Rikku is Al-Bhed yet!'_

I decided quite quickly that I didn't really need Wakka going absolutely berserk on Rikku as he did when he found out she was an Al-Bhed in the game. Sighing I left the sentence hanging, and turned back to the empty, and now dark, fridge.

'_If this theory is true… that means that I'm going to have to be especially careful with everything I say. And, they can't know that they are in another world, that wouldn't help the situation at all.' _Gasping suddenly I remembered my comment that I had said before passing out, that my seven guests 'weren't in Spira anymore.' Moaning at my stupidity I hung my head, hoping that they wouldn't remember that.

'_Well, then, I'll just have to be extra careful.'_

"What were you saying, ya?"

Snapping out of my trance I turned to Wakka, mind rushing to rearrange itself from my deep moment of thinking. After a moment I shook my head, letting everything I had said before drop.

"Nothing, nothing. I was wrong, you guys were right" Closing the fridge door I walked past Wakka and Rikku, making my way over to the group of people lounging around in my kitchen. I heard Rikku and Wakka follow me as I approached the other people in my house, Wakka still in a semi guard-like stance.

"So? Where's the food?" Tidus said, standing up and looking at my expectantly. I shrugged, looking behind me and the empty and now dark fridge.

"We're out, apparently." Mouth hanging open slightly Tidus's face arranged itself into a small, pout like expression as he stared at me. My stomach gave a loud rumble at this and I sighed. "And, it seems that I don't have any money, so I don't think we'll be getting any food anytime soon…" Trailing off my slow mind suddenly remembered something, something very important. Smiling suddenly I bounded over to a certain kitchen drawer and wrenched it open, eyes catching the flash of green I was looking for.

Knowing that their children were quite able to eat them out of house and home, my parents had left a small stash of money just in case the current amount of food got a little low. Thanking my parents silently I grabbed a 50 dollar bill from the drawer and stashed the rest of the money under a few extra knives.

"Hey guys, I take what I said back! We have money for food!" Waving the 50 dollar bill around I waited for a happy response from my guests, but instead they said nothing, seeming weary of my sudden outburst. Yuna leaned over to Tidus and whispered something to him, which seemed a lot like, 'What kind of gil is _that?' _but I ignored it, quite happy that I would actually be eating tonight.

"Uh... I'll need some help bringing it all back though." Looking over everyone in my presence I glanced at their current clothing, deciding on which person looked most normal. Nodding to myself I smiled and trained my eyes on the person that would be the most helpful for the job.

"Rikku?"

Rikku's face lit up as I said her name and she jumped slightly, quite happy.

"What about me?" Tidus asked, his face still slightly pout-like. I looked at him, pondering his appearance. Did I really want him coming along?

'_Well, it would be nice for carrying the groceries…'  
_  
"Well, if you really want to go..." I said, nodding to myself as much as him

"Yeah! Lets go!" Tidus yelled before I could finish my sentence, face changing from a pout to a smile in two seconds flat. Jumping in the air he pumped a fist high, laughing giddily.

"Wow, he really does get annoying..." I muttered, rolling my eyes. My other guests murmured at this comment, some more forcefully then others. Sighing I turned to everyone, hands on my hips.

"Well, we'll be back in about an hour or so, I guess. So... make yourselves at home..." The remaining five people looked at me oddly, which gave me a small feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

'_Aw, screw it…'_

Laughing a little I picked up the TV remote from the kitchen table and handed it to Kimahri. Sniffing it Kimahri looked at me like I was crazy and I smiled at him, leading Tidus and Rikku out the door.

"Have fun..."

- - - - -

What will Kimahri do when he finds out how the TV remote works? Will I actually get up the nerve to have a conversation with everybody all at once? How will shopping go? Will these people ever get out of my house??? Stay tuned...

**Rikkoshaye**


	3. ATV Onroad Fury

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- ATV On-Road Fury -**

"Hmmm, it looks as if it has stopped raining…" I muttered softly to myself, looking down at the damp ground as I fiddled with the garage door. I had almost forgotten that it had been raining earlier in the day. Positively storming, in fact. "I didn't expect it to let up already, but I guess that works well for our shopping…"

"What's that?" Tidus inquired, pointing ahead of me. I continued punching in the last of the digits on my garage door opener and then entered the code, making sure the door closed completely. Turning around I followed Tidus's hand, mildly surprised that he _didn't _know what something was.

"That's a 4-wheeler." I said casually, eyebrow arching. "What, don't you have those in Zanarkand?"

In the few minutes that we had been out of the house, I had already learned that Zanarkand had cars, boats, snow mobiles, and oddly enough, rock polishers. Tidus had commented on all of them as we walked through the garage, Rikku in tow. So, I had naturally assumed that Zanarkand had 4-wheelers as well.

Although, being that the city was built on water, you wouldn't necessarily need 4-wheelers. But, you wouldn't need snowmobiles either, and they apparently had those on sale at all times of the year.

"No, I've never seen anything like_ that _before. What does it do?"

"Well," I said, rounding the corner and wheeling a bike out from the side of the garage, "you basically ride it for fun. It's an all terrain vehicle that can go almost anywhere, or so they say." Setting the kickstand of the bike down on the ground I turned the front wheel, making sure it wouldn't roll away on me. "I've honestly never tried it on much more then dirt hills and fields."

I proceeded to wheel out another bike, watching as Rikku prodded the ATV a little. She seemed fascinated by it, her green eyes wide as she looked over the engine and wheels. Then again it was a machine, and since she seemed to have a soft spot for such things her actions didn't surprise me much.

Unfortunately, it didn't take her long to turn it on.

"Hey, watch it!" I said, dropping the last bike and jogging up to them. "This thing cost like 10,000 bucks!" I haste fully turned off the machine, leading them both over to the bikes, the last of them laying at an odd angle on the ground.

"Ah man, we have to _bike?_"Tidus said, face downcast. I gave him an annoyed look and picked up the fallen bike, wiping off the seat and hopping on.

"What'd you expect, we'd ride the 4-wheeler up there or something?" I said, laughing to myself for a moment. That is, until I realized what I had just said. Biting my tongue I watched as both Tidus's and Rikku's eyes lit up, instantly wishing I knew when to shut my mouth.

"Yeah, lets go!" I turned to face Rikku, who's fist was pumped in the air and leg was pulled up close to her body. _'Classic Rikku stance' _I thought dully, looking at her. I sighed, distressed, as I silently cursed my big fat mouth.

"You guys, we can't." I said, taking the direct approach. Rikku's face fell, arm dropping and leg falling back to the ground.

"Why not?" Turning from Rikku's droopy face I looked at Tidus, whose eyebrow was arched in a questioning way. Staring at him blankly I scrambled to come up for an answer, and luckily my brain clicked to a pretty good one.

"Well, first off, I'm not old enough." I said simply, not wishing to elaborate. Hopefully he would take my word for it and give up without fighting. Hopefully.

"It says here you have to be 16 to drive. I'm 17." I winced, hoping he wouldn't have seen that.

"Well, it's also illegal in about three different ways..." I sputtered, looking downward. I was running out of arguments and Tidus knew it. Hearing his feet shift I looked upward once again, just to see him leap onto the machine and grab the handles, Rikku following suit. Wrapping her arms around him she laughed happily, almost like she was on some sort of sugar high.

'_Machine high is more like it…'_

"Come on! Haven't you ever done anything adventurous?" Tidus smiled, realizing he had me in a corner. I mumbled a little, no good comeback coming to mind. I was too young to drive but Tidus was not, the 4-wheeler was full of gas, it was considerably faster…

"And it'll be fun!" Rikku said gleefully, leaning forward and starting the machine once again. I mumbled some more, listening to the engine putt quietly in the background.

_'It would be funner, and faster, easier to carry the groceries home...' _I thought to myself, looking over at their two eager faces. _'And how can I let those two down?' _Sighing I gave in, throwing up my arms.

"Okay, okay, we'll ride the 4-wheeler up to the store. But on one condition." I held up an index finger to prove my point. Rikku nodded, a huge smile on her face, while Tidus's fidgeted eagerly, rocking back and forth on the machine.

"What's that?" Rikku asked, smiling. I returned the smile, smirking a little along with it.

"I get to drive."

- -

AHHHHH! AAAAHHHHHHHHHH! GET ME OFF THIS THIIINNNNGGGG!"

Being on a public highway while not in a car isn't smart. And bowling down that highway on a 4-wheeler with 3 passengers, no helmets, and at a speed that was well over 60mph wasn't exactly the smartest thing either. In fact, it was down right stupid. Oh, and having a someone spaz while your driving didn't help much, either.

"RIKKU!" I yelled, wind carrying my voice back towards her. "SHUT TIDUS UP! NOW!"

By now the man had been reduced to something that resembled human jell-o, his hands turning from soft and humanly to beastly and painful, each digging deep into my ribs. His voice had turned from whimpering to moaning to screaming, and now it was degrading into a high pitched, ear-drum cracking, highly annoying screech. Even with Rikku's help, his scream continued, only stopping every minute or so for large intake of breath. And his hands continued to dig into me, causing my breath to shorten.

"Oh God, please let this ride be over soon!" I moaned, feeling Tidus's hands squeeze my spleen with almost inhuman strength.

And then I heard the siren.

**"Pull over right now! You are in direct violation of-"**

"AHHHHH! I WANT OFF! NOW!" The second part of the police's loudspeaker was drowned out by Tidus, who was wailing in painfully loud decibels. Resisting the urge to clap my hands over my ears I felt my stomach drop in dread.

'_Leave it to me to do something so stupid…_' I thought with panic as I slowed and pulled over, the cop following suit behind me.

"What are we stopping for?" Rikku asked, poking her head around Tidus's saggy frame. He had stopped wailing, finally, but was now whimpering pitifully. His hands seemed to be permanently stuck digging under my ribs, causing me to make a painfully fixed face as I yanked them down and then out of their position.

"We had to stop. The cop..." I said, jerking my head toward the squad car. Gnashing my teeth shut I turned away from Rikku, still cursing myself silently_. 'Mom is gunna kill me…'_

"Cop?"

I heard the car door shut behind us and the heavy footsteps of the man that was coming out of it. Turning my head as the man walked up I readied myself for his questions. As he trotted up beside me I looked up and noticed his face, which was currently in a faint smirk.

"How old are you, miss?" The cop gave me an unmistakable sneer as he asked this, tapping his ticket pad with a pen. He was young, I saw, maybe in his twenties, and was big boned with broad shoulders.

"Wow, what an ego…" I murmured, looking away. Tidus had still seemed to not have recovered, and gave a half-hearted whimper in response. Looking at him I noticed his hands were still stuck in a claw-like form.

"What did you say?" The cop inquired, voice rising with annoyance. I turned back to the man, trying to look innocent and a little clueless.

I don't think it worked very well.

"I said 15. I'm 15." He laughed at me a little, his nose crinkling. My anger started to rise with this, and I began to get an idea of just how large this man's ego was. I had a distinct visual of myself jumping on him and ripping his eyeballs out, which caused me to smile back at the smirking man. But I held my urges in check, not wanting to get in anymore trouble.

"You do know that you have to be _16_ to drive a ATV." The cop said, scribbling on his notepad. I nodded.

"Yessir."

"And you do know that it is illegal to carry passengers, drive on a public road, and not wear the proper equipment." The cop peeked down at me, moving his notepad to get a good look at my face. I nodded again, looking downward.

"Yess-"

"Hey now, you wait one minute!" The cop and I turned to Rikku, who's face looked a little red and eyes were narrowed. Hands on her hips she had let go of Tidus, and I noted dully that he was currently sliding down the 4-wheeler seat. "Who are you to be ordering us around, anyway?" My eyes widened at her inquiry.

"Rikku-" I warned frantically, but the cop cut me off.

"I am a member of law enforcement. It's my job."

"Job? Hah! I've never heard of a 'cop' in my life!" I saw the cop's face redden, and his eyes begin to boggle.

"Now, listen miss, if you don't stop this nonsense right now, I might have to take you down to the station!" Looking at the cop I knew that was exactly what he would do, too. I could tell he was just _itching_ to bring some 'delinquent kids' down to the station so he could brag to all of his friends. My eyes widened as Rikku opened her mouth to speak.

"Now you look here, mister, I-" I held up a hand, cutting Rikku off. The thoughts of metal bars and probation ran through my mind and I swallowed, knowing that I had to wrap this up and I had to do it soon.

"Um, officer, what she means to say, is, well..." Both Rikku and the cop looked at me, obvious looks of anger blanketing their faces. "Well, you see..." I stepped off the 4-wheeler and pulled him to the side, watching as Tidus slumped down on the seat, his body halfway oozing down the side. It looked like he had passed out from the strain.

"You see, my friend there, she was recently in an accident that caused her to have a rather severe case of amnesia. She thinks she's from a world called Spira, to tell you the truth!" I forced a fake laugh, hoping the cop would join in. He didn't.

"Spira, huh? I never knew that remembering _fake_ information was ever a part of amnesia." I swallowed, knowing I had made a rather large mistake.

"Uh, well, uh you see, she used to play a lot of video games, and, uh, one of them had a world in it called Spira. And, well, that's what she remembered." I finished lamely, attempting another laugh and shrugging my shoulders. The cop peered down at me, not amused. I looked downward, face turning red.

My brain decided to remind me at that moment how very wrong lying to a cop was, but I pushed the thoughts away and focused on the current situation. _'I'm too deep to swim my way out of this one, so I might as well go with it.' _I thought lamely, swallowing.

After a lengthy pause I heard the cop 'humph' and I sneaked a look back up at him. The smirk was gone from his face, replaced by another look.

"What's your friend's name?" The cop seemed to be looking at Rikku oddly, like he was trying to remember her from somewhere. I cocked an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden question. After pondering for a moment if I should tell him the truth or not I decided that it didn't really matter anymore.

"Rikku... Why?" The cop's confused look seemed to get worse, and his gaze shifted to Tidus.

"And his name?" I didn't know where this was going, but I decided to play along. Maybe I'd get lucky.

"Tidus."

"Uh huh." The cop scratched his chin, rubbing his fingers over the stubble that had begun to grow there. "And you say they think they're from Spira?" I nodded.

"Yeah. Funny, isn't it?"

The police officer nodded. Eyebrows furrowing the cop then turned away from me, walking slowly back to his car, deep in thought. Following him timidly I watched as he opened his door and threw the notepad inside, turning back to face me.

"Yeah... funny..." He mumbled something that I couldn't quite decipher before climbing fully into his car and closing the door. Starting the engine he slowly pulled up to my side, rolling down the window.

"You know, I think I'm going to let you guys off with a warning. Just... don't do it again..." Eyebrows arching I stared at him with disbelief as he rolled the window back up, giving me one last nod before pulling away. I saw his face wrinkle again in confusion as he drove past me and over the hill, disappearing in the distance. Confused myself I climbed back onto the 4-wheeler, propping Tidus back up and motioning Rikku back to her seat.

"What was that all about? What's a cop? And what was he driving!?" Rikku asked, reasonably annoyed. Putting a hand out I stopped Rikku from asking anymore questions, sighing as I realized I had to somehow keep her oblivious to the situation. But, an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Rikku, do you remember before, when you guys first showed up in my house?" Rikku nodded, the confused look still plastered on her face. "Well, do you remember what I said?"

"Yeah, you said that we 'weren't in Spira anymore.'" Nose crinkling Rikku looked at me funny, obviously confused. "What did you mean by that anyway?"

'_I hope this idea works…'_

"Well, you see, I meant exactly what I said. You aren't in Spira anymore." Eyes widening Rikku looked around franticly, mouth hanging open.

"What? Not in Spira? Well then where are we? Why are we here!?" I could tell Rikku was reaching mild hysteria so I stopped her again, continuing with my plan. Looking at me with a worried face she bit her lip, waiting for my response.

"Well, I'm not really sure why you're here… but, I do have my theories." I swallowed, diving in. "You see, right now you are on a continent that branches _off_ from Spira, called America." Rikku stared at me, saying nothing. "Anyway, this America is a secret place, a place only the most important officials of Spira know about. And, as you can see, it has lots of machina…" It bugged me a little to know I was lying right to her face, but I had no other choice. There had to be some explanation why this world was so different from the one she knew.

"But I thought machina were forbidden here…" Looking downward I saw that Tidus had dragged his way back to consciousness and was now staring at me with clouded eyes. I nodded at his statement, rounding out my cover story mentally so that it seemed more believable.

"Your right. Which is exactly why America was kept secret from the population of Spira." Looking back over to Rikku I saw her eyebrow furrowed in thought as she contemplated my statement.

"But why would they want to do that?" I shook my head at this, looking away. I knew I had to be careful now, because I couldn't let either Tidus or Rikku know that the maesters of Spira were backstabbing and hypocritical. But, perhaps I could create some suspicion.

"I'm not sure. But maybe they _want_ to keep the people of Spira oblivious, and without modern machines… That is only my personal opinion, of course." Looking back again I saw both Tidus and Rikku thinking about this, but saying nothing. And so I continued.

"Anyway, after one of my machinas blew up and knocked me out, you guys somehow showed up in my house while I was unconscious." A sudden idea came to mind. "Hey, do you guys remember how you came to America?"

Rikku put a hand on her hip and a finger on her lips as she thought about my question. "Yeah. We were walking through the Thunder Plains and suddenly there was this big burst of lightning, which knocked everyone out…"

"Yeah, and when we came to we were at your house." Tidus added, sitting up. He seemed to be mostly over his fainting stage, but his hands were still slightly claw-like in appearance. I 'hmmed' at this and thought about what they were saying, adding it into my story.

"Well, from what I can figure, you must have been transported here, somehow."

"But how?" Rikku inquired, tilting her head. I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Someone must have done it, though. Maybe you'll never figure it out." Tidus nodded at this, seemingly believing everything I was saying.

"So how do we get back?" Tidus asked, shifting slightly. I sighed at this, knowing that the question was coming. So, I answered truthfully.

"I don't know. Spira and America must be kept apart, and it's impossible to get from one to the other by normal modes of transportation. I honestly don't know _how_ you guys are going to get back to your own world, much less your pilgrimage." Tidus and Rikku looked at each other with equally wrinkled faces, Rikku's suddenly lighting up with an idea.

"Well, then, we'll just have to figure it out ourselves then!" she said, pumping a fist into the air. I smiled at this and nodded, agreeing with her. But then, suddenly, Rikku's face drooped a little and her eyes plunged back into their pits of confusion. "But Sara… when we showed up in your house, how did you know who we were?"

'_Oh. Shit.'_

"Uh… well…" Mind racing I ran a hand through my hair, stuttering as I tried to cover up the hole Rikku had found in my cover story. But, luckily, a shaky idea surfaced in my brain quickly and I jumped on it, hoping they would believe it.

"Well, America has to deal with Sin just like you guys do. But… but we can't fight it, because machinas seem useless against it. And since Zanarkand is on Spira, there is no way America can have anyone go on pilgrimages. So, when pilgrimages start on Spira, we are updated about it here." Tidus narrowed his eyes at this but didn't protest, so I hoped it was just an after effect of deep thinking.

"Ahh, I see." Rikku said, nodding.

Biting my lip I looked at the two of them, hoping that they bought into my story. It was pretty far fetched, and frankly if I was in their position I would be pretty skeptical. Then again, if they really did come from the world of Spira, things like this would probably be possible and probable. Probably.

"Anyway, " I said, continuing, "A cop is a person who enforces the laws set down in America. And, driving on a road with a 4-wheeler is against the law here. If we don't get this whole trip over with soon, he could come back again and get us into even more trouble." Rikku nodded at this and Tidus just continued staring at me, brow furrowed. I could tell he didn't believe much of what I was saying, but Rikku did. That was better then nothing.

"Well, then, we better get going huh?" Rikku said, latching her arms around Tidus and hunkering down into the 4-wheeler seat. I nodded at this, agreeing. Silently I was happy the whole talk was over, and now I would just have to wait and see if everyone bought into it. The chance was small, but I had to hope for the best.

Starting up the 4-wheeler up once again I shifted the machine into drive, pulling back out into the road and starting down the asphalt.

"Oh, Tidus?" I said suddenly, making sure his hands were as far away from my ribcage as possible.

"What?" He said, voice already a little squeaky.

"Don't scream so loud this time, okay?"

- -

"So... what do you guys want?" I turned to look at the two of them, motioning at all the food that the grocery store had to offer. Rikku's mouth literally dropped open, and I saw the green tint from Tidus's face fade away as it was replaced by a look of pure happiness.

"Food! So.. much..." Tidus's voice trailed off as he just stared, eyes beginning to water. I could almost see him go into 'reminiscing mode,' thoughts of Zanarand likely drifting through his brain.

"Guess he missed Zanarkand a lot, huh?" I said, turning to Rikku. But she didn't seem to hear me, her own face full of awe. I watched, brows rising, as her eyes seemed to take in everything around her, tracing over all the boxes and cans that were stacked high in the shelves.

"How... much... food..." She sputtered, mouth dropping open again as she made another sweep with her eyes. I smiled at this response, arms crossed. Who knew someone could get so mesmerized by food? Figuring I should probably get this whole trip over with I shook my head, dropping my arms. "Hey, guys, snap out of it! This is just the first _isle_!"

Tidus shook his head slightly, eyes lighting up. "I haven't seen this much food in one place since-"

"Zanarkand?" I finished, looking at him with a slight smirk on my face. He looked vaguely surprised. "Just a guess..." Looking over at Rikku I noticed her eyes had begun to cloud with happiness. "Food must be a big thing for you guys, huh?" I remarked, watching her.

"Well, yeah!" Tidus remarked, hand thrown out to his side. "When all you have to eat day in and day out is _potatoes_…" he trailed off, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

"Hey, numb-nuts, move out of the way!" Turning around I saw that we had blocked up the whole entrance, and a line of people had begun to gather. Some of them looked a little heated, like the man that had spoken. Grabbing the now drooling Rikku I pulled her out of the way, ushering Tidus to follow. Smiling a little I tried to ignore the dirty looks I was sent.

Looking over at Rikku I now noticed that her eyes were still incredibly cloudy, and her body was starting to waver a little. I figured I better wake her up before she fell on the floor and hurt herself. "Hey, Rikku, come on!" I gave her a little shake, watching as she slowly pulled out of her trance. She looked at me, not bothering to wipe the now dripping drool from her face. Sadly enough, it was dripping right onto my hand.

"Rikku!"

"Oh, sorry..." She shook her head, her eyes beginning to focus again.

"Hey what's this..." I turned toward the loud voice, which, unfortunately, belonged to Tidus. Seeming perplexed by a large show of stacked oranges, he pulled one out to examine it. Sadly enough, it was on the bottom row.

"Tidus, no!" I yelled, running toward the produce section and dragging Rikku along with me.

…Unfortunately, I was too late.

"Wow..." Rikku said, slowing her own jog as the oranges came tumbling down. Staring as they all rolled down, bouncing off the other boxes, carts and people, I closed my eyes, not wanting to look. But it didn't matter, because I didn't have to.

"**Clean up on isle two... Clean up in isle two…"**

Opening my eyes a crack my mouth dropped open, watching as the last of the oranges rolled across the ground. Tidus, who seemed to have been knocked over in the avalanche of fruit, was now sputtering as the broken oranges spewed sticky juice down his body. Rikku was the first to run forward, looking generally concerned.

"Hey, are you okay?" She offered him a hand, which he took. Looking around frantically, I was just waiting for the grocery store staff to come and start yelling at us, and I knew I didn't have much time until they found us at the scene of the crime.

"Um, guys? Lets just get our shopping done, before someone gets pissed..." I glanced at the astonished costumers, who were seeming to get more and more annoyed at our presence. Laughing a little I put a hand on the small of Tidus's back, pushing him forward. "Now..."

- -

_Back at the house..._

Auron, who had taken made himself comfortable on the couch, looked up as Kimahri walked past him, punching buttons feverishly on the remote control. Lulu had taken refuge at the kitchen table, staring into space and rubbing her moogle doll absentmindedly. Wakka had begun to snore at the breakfast island, a bit of snot protruding out of his nose. And Yuna amused herself by walking through the library, picking out odd books and looking them over.

"Arrrr..." Kimahri let out a cat-like growl, tail flicking back and forth with anger. Auron watched him as he continued to punch at the buttons, seemingly amused.

"Let me see that." Auron said, eyeing the remote. Kimahri threw down the piece of equipment in annoyance, looking away and stomping over to the other side of the couch.

"Kimahri's hands too big. Not working." Auron looked over the TV remote, brow furrowing slightly. Finding the red power button at the top he pushed it, but nothing happened. He frowned, looking up at the square appliance in front of him. He knew what the remote did, unlike the others. But why wasn't it working? Auron then noticed something glinting to his left and chuckled, realizing it was another remote wedged into the couch cushions. Pulling it out he noticed another power button, and promptly pushed it.

The TV turned on. And someone had left the sound on a little too loud.

"Wha... WHAT IN YEVON'S NAME IS THAT, YA?" Wakka snorted loudly, pulling the loose snot back into his nose. Forgetting that he was on a chair he tried to walk forward, but just ended up smashing his shin onto the wooden island. Howling he then shifted his balance backwards, causing the chair to lean just a little too far...

_CRASH_

Lulu, who had covered her ears from the loud noise, gave Wakka a disgusted stare.

"Auron! Turn that contraption down!" She yelled, a little louder then intended. Finally finding the volume button, Auron pushed it, face relaxing as the sound receded. Kimahri growled at the TV, legs twitching. Yuna had ran in from the library, hand on her mouth.

"Sir Auron... what is that?" She asked, eyes wide. Auron looked over at her, setting the controller down.

"A television." Yuna looked at him, seemingly confused.

"A... tele... vision?" Wakka, who had seemed to recover from his injury, stood slowly.

"More forbidden machina, that's what it is!" Hobbling over to the living room Wakka gave Auron a piercing gaze, hand on his shin. "What is this place anyway, Sir Auron?"

Auron shrugged, taking a drink from his jug. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Zanarkand."

Lulu walked forward from the kitchen, moogle clutched rather tightly in her hands. "Didn't know better?"

Auron turned an eye on her, fingering his jug absentmindedly, but he said nothing. Sighing Yuna sat down on the couch, looking at the pictures flash across the TV screen.

"It looks almost like a blitz screen, ya?" Wakka said, sitting down clumsily on the floor. Lulu and Kimahri stayed standing behind the couch, all becoming rather mesmerized by the pictures on the screen.

"Lets see what's on..."

- - - - -

What will I find everyone watching when I come back to my house? Will I manage to keep my two shopping partners from destroying the store? How will I be able to keep Tidus from crushing me on the 4-wheeler ride home? We shall see...

**Rikkoshaye**


	4. Shop 'till you Drop

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Shop 'till you Drop -**

"Hey Sara, what's this?" Sighing for what had to be the umpteenth time, I turned to Rikku slowly. In her hand she held a pickle jar, all of which were cut into little hamburger slices. Her eyes boggled at the sight, and I watched patiently as she poked the glass a little.

"Those are called pickles. They are cucumbers canned with special seasonings. They taste good on hamburgers, actually." I stated mildly, grabbing a some ketchup from a shelf.

Pushing the cart down the isle I sighed, glad my mom and dad had gave me extra money to go shopping with before they left on their trip to Las Vegas. According to their schedule, they wouldn't be back for another ten days. Plenty of time to get my seven guests back into their video game. Right?

"WHOA! POP!" Slowing my cart to a screeching halt, I turned toward the voice that could only be Tidus. After the orange incident, he had managed to keep out of trouble. So far, that is. Passing Rikku, who was still marveling at the pickles, I turned the isle corner and found Tidus looking up at the soda display with wide eyes.

"Hey, get out of there!" I said, grasping his arm quickly and pulling him away. I already knew what squished oranges looked like. I didn't want to find out what squished pop cans looked like, too.

"Gees, gruuuummpy!" Tidus muttered, shoulders hunched. Stomping back to the cart, he looked at me darkly. Then, grumbling, he pouted while joining Rikku, who was now marveling over a jar of baby pickles.

'He acts younger than me...' I thought, shaking my head. Picking up a few more condiments I threw them into the cart, and continued my shopping.

- -

"What kind of move was that, ya?" Wakka asked, hand rubbing his shin absentmindedly.

After Auron had figured out what all the buttons on the remote did, he had found that the TV had some sort of guide on it. Not really knowing what to pick, he decided that 'Football' seemed like a good enough choice. Everyone was soon engrossed.

"Go purple psyches!" Yuna yelled, giggling. After some debate, everyone had decided to call the purple team 'purple psyches' and the green team 'grass goers.' It seemed to fit nicely, for the purple team liked psyche each other, and the green team liked to hit the ground a lot. Listening as the announcer's enthusiasm rose, Auron began to get more and more into the game. And when the purple psyches fumbled the ball, Auron was on his feet.

"What was that! Imbeciles! Do they not know how to play their own game?" Silence fallowed his statement, as even the announcers quit their usual opinions. Wide eyed everyone slowly turned to the usually quiet man, varying degrees of shock on their faces. Clearing his throat Auron sat down, hand groping for the remote. "I believe it is time to change the channel..."

BBBRRIIINNNNG!!

As the guide popped back up onto the screen, something began to make an annoying chiming noise. Wakka's face darkened as he muttered something about machina, but eyed the odd contraption with curiosity. Auron, who knew what it was, ignored the machine. He remembered having some heated arguments with telemarketers before, and it wasn't something he wanted to live through again. But the others weren't so enlightened.

BBBRRIIINNNNG!!

Lulu, who was still standing behind Auron, was closest to the contraption. Everyone turned to look at her, except for Auron, who was continuing his search through the guide.

BBBRRIIINNNNG!!

Walking over to the machine timidly, Lulu picked it up, looking at the odd numbered buttons that she hadn't seen before.

"What is this... thing?" She asked, holding it out as if it was infected with some sort of disease.

"Hello? HELLO?"

Visibly jumping, Lulu dropped the phone. She had never seen a machina talk before, and she didn't like it. Unfortunately, it dropped squarely on the back of Wakka's head.

"AH! Lu, what'd you do that for?" He said, rubbing his head. Grabbing the machine he pushed a button, and then, trying to be funny, put it up to his ear.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"AHH!" The machine flew into the air, while Wakka scrambled away from it with wide eyes. Hitting the ground the phone sat there, a small voice leaking out of it.

"Hello? Sara? Are you playing games with me again, because it's not funny!"

Grunting Kimahri moved forward, grabbing the contraption with a furry blue claw. Sniffing it he growled, tail swishing back and forth unhappily.

"Kimahri no like this..."

Sighing Auron took his attention away from the TV, frustrated with his team's incompetence. Turning around and holding his hand out, he 'hned,' getting Kimahri's attention.

"Give the phone to me." Kimahri obliged, but gave Auron a slightly confused look all the same. Grunting Auron put the phone up to his ear, just to hear the man on the other side begin to yell.

"Sara! If you don't quit this shit right now, I'm going to take that computer away from you for a week!" Wincing Auron handed the phone to Yuna, eyes becoming once again emotionless.

"Sir Auron?" Yuna asked timidly, taking the phone from his hands.

"Speak into it. Say you are Sara."

Looking a little confused, Yuna brought the phone to her ear. "If you say so..." Putting the phone to her ear slowly she looked at Auron for approval.

"Your holding it upside-down."

"Oh."

"Sara!" Righting the phone Yuna looked at it, everyone watching her intently.

"Hell...o?"

"Sara! What the hell are you doing!? I have been on this damn phone for five minutes!" The man on the other side seemed thoroughly pissed. Taken aback, Yuna put her hand on her chest instinctively, and dropped her head.

"Sorry, sir."

"Sir? Sara, cut the crap. I need you to do some things for me." Yuna nodded, voice quiet.

"Okay."

"Hey, Sara, are you okay? You sound a little different."

"I caught a Sin-cold. My nose is a little... stuffed up..." Yuna gave a huge snort, as if clearing her nose. Lulu pushed her hand to her face, shaking her head slightly.

"Whatever Sara. Now, me and mom won't be back from Las Vegas for ten days yet, but I need you to do a few things around the house. Write these things down, so you don't forget..."

- -

"TIDUS! NO!!!" Scrambling over for what seemed to be the millionth time, I pulled him back, stopping him in mid-bite.

"Tidus! You can't eat the stuff at the store before you pay!" Huffing I pulled the frozen liver from his hands, and he gave me a pouting look.

"Ah, come on! How do you know if it's good or not if you don't try it first?" Growling I handed the unwrapped liver to a nearby Cub Food helper, motioning toward Tidus and rolling my eyes. The lady smiled gently, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"It must be hard, caring for someone who is so disabled. He must be a real hassle, if he doesn't know how horrible liver tastes!" Nodding a little I watched as the lady walked away, liver in her hand.

"Are we almost done?" Rikku poped up next to me, holding a package of butter. Taking the butter from her hands I nodded, sighing.

"Almost. We just need a few more things, and we'll be done." Turning away I muttered under my breath, "Thank God. And I was worried someone I knew would see us..."

"Sara! Sara!" Eyes widening I froze, breath catching in my throat. I spoke too soon, it seemed, because I knew that voice. And that voice knew me. And guess what?

I was screwed.

Turning I looked over my shoulder, risking a small smile.

"Hi grandma..." Smiling the older lady bustled up to me, grabbing a package of cheese on the way.

"Oh, hi Sara! Out shopping for your mom, I see?" I nodded, trying to look nonchalant.

"Oh, yeah. She wanted me to pick up some stuff for her while she was gone, so, you know..." My grandma nodded, 'hmm'ing and looking over my shoulder. I shuffled a little, looking down at my feet. 'Don't see them,' I thought briskly, 'don't see them...'

"Sara, who is that?"

Crap.

"Uh, who?" I tried to sound dumb, so that maybe Rikku would get the hint. She didn't.

"She means me, dummy!" Rikku said, walking up to my grandma. Mentally slapping myself on the forehead I grabbed Rikku's arm, pulling her back. Glancing quickly over my shoulder I saw Tidus coming up to us, food in his hands. This was just going to get worse, I knew it...

"Ooooh, Riiikkkuuu. I thought you were pointing to, uh..." I looked around, spotting no one but Tidus. My grandma looked at me, confused. "Well, not her. Heh." I laughed a little, hoping she'd understand. She didn't.

"Didn't your parents say you couldn't have any friends over while they were gone?" I swallowed, wishing she wouldn't have remembered that.

"Well, yeah, but these guys aren't exactly friends. They are... uh... cousins!" My face lit up, happy with my answer. My grandma, however, was not.

"But Sara, you only have four cousins." My face fell.

"Well, yeah, but they aren't, uh, _cousin _cousins."

"They aren't?"

"Hey, Sara, I got some more food for you! Maybe we can have a party later!" Wincing I turned to Tidus, who was dumping the food into the cart. Turning back to my grandma I saw she was putting two and two together. This was bad. But then I suddenly had an idea.

"They're second cousins! Yeah, that's it. You know, on my mom's side. And, well, since they were all in town, you know, my mom let me invite them over..." Shrugging I looked back at Tidus, sending him an evil glare. He gave me one back, but I didn't mind. He wouldn't say anything else for a while now. And thankfully, Rikku was smart enough to catch on.

"Yeah, we're her second cousins! Nice to meet you, grandma! I'm Rikku!" My grandma's face relaxed, and she held out her hand.

"Oh, call me Julie." Rikku smiled, jumping with enthusiasm. Laughing nervously myself, I pulled on one of Rikku's long ribbons, jerking her away from my grandma.

"Well, we have to go. Can't be here forever, you know. Call or something, okay? We'll do something later, alright? TTFN!!" Laughing again I began walking off, waving to my poor confused relative. After she was out of sight I turned to my comrades, face grim.

"Okay you guys, we're leaving. Now."

- - - - -

Will I ever get out of that grocery store alive? What state will I find the rest of the crew in when I get home? How will I ever get these guys out of my life? And where in the world did my sister and brother go? We'll find out, soon enough...

**Rikkoshaye**


	5. Bringing Down the House

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

- - - - -

**- Bringing Down the House -**

"What the HELL?"

The ride home had been just as uneventful as the first. Tidus was his usual mound of blubbering jell-o, while Rikku tried her best to keep a hold on the bags of groceries we had bought. I think we may have lost some celery and maybe a few canned goods, but that wasn't the worst of my worries. I had suddenly began to realize that I had left five people, four with no experience with machines what-so-ever, in my house. The house my parents go into killing rages over if one dirty shirt isn't picked up off the floor. The house that if anything was to happen to it, I would be killed for.

The house that I found in mortal ruins as soon as I walked through the door.

Dumping my load of groceries on the kitchen counter I stared, eyes wide. I didn't even notice when Rikku dumped Tidus at my feet, who still resembled nine day old mush. All I could see was the house. And how badly I was going to be killed for what had happened.

Pots and pans littered the sink and counter, while food and grease was splattered everywhere. A huge black burn mark scorched one of the white walls, and the dishwasher was partly open, bubbles running freely upon the floor. Sparks shot from the microwave, which was currently cooking something for 52 more minutes, and all the cupboard doors were wide open, everything torn through and looked at. The TV was on as well, turned on some soap opera, and music was playing faintly in the speakers that lined the ceiling. The house was a disaster. And all I could do was sit, and gape.

"What happened here...?" Rikku asked, stepping forward. Mouth moving up and down I just squeaked, a small tear running down my face. I was dead. So dead. Completely, and utterly dead... "Auron!"

Turning my head over in Rikku's direction I saw Auron, who was, by the looks of it, completely knocked out on the ground. A pan was laying on the floor near him, as well as Wakka, who was snoring very loudly. Both had rather large bumps protruding from their heads.

Walking over into the living room I saw Lulu and Yuna sleeping together on the couch, a half-frozen chicken wrapped up in one of my dad's sweatshirts next to them. Turning my head I saw Kimahri sitting calmly on the couch, watching the soup opera. Tail flicking he looked over at me, and then back at the soap opera.

"Auron and Wakka fighting. Kimahri had to stop. Yuna and Lulu doing list." Glancing back at the ruined kitchen Kimahri grunted, grabbing the remote. "They don't do good job." Voice coming back I was beginning to get over my shock, which was quickly being replaced by anger.

"No shit, Sherlock! Look at this! Look! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO???" Looking at my calmly, Kimahri reached toward Yuna, gently unfolding her hand and pulling out a warm slip of paper.

"Do this." And then, he calmly went right back to his soap opera.

Growling I glanced over the paper, looking down at what Yuna had written on it. A small grunt emanated from behind me, but I paid no attention as my heart began to beat faster and faster.

"Oh. Shit."

BBBRRIIINNNNG!!

Mouth hanging open in disbelief I fumbled for the phone, barely being able to take my eyes from the paper.

"Hel..lo..." I mumbled, my mind slowly putting two and two together.

"Hello, Sara? This is grandma..." Eyes widening I tore my gaze from the paper, focusing my attention on the phone.

"Oh, hi grandma. What's up?" I tried to sound normal, but my voice shook anyway.

"Hi Sara. Has your dad called you yet, to tell you about tonight?" Nodding I looked back at the top of the paper, which said 'Things to do Before Grandma Comes Over.'

"Uh... yeah. He just called. What time are you coming over, again?" Without a pause my grandma answered, upbeat and happy.

"Oh, that's what I called you about! Now, due to some sudden changes, I will have to come over a half an hour earlier then we planned. About 7:30, instead of 8:00. Is that okay?

I felt my heart drop silently, rolling across the carpeted floor. "Yeah, grandma, that'll be fine..."

"Great! I'll be over then, to see how everything is holding up! Oh, and I'll be bringing your brother and sister home too. They had a great time at their cousin's house, by the way..." Swallowing I nodded absentmindedly, mind racing over everything I had to do.

"Uh, yeah grandma, that's great. Can you tell me tonight? My dad just called, so I have some stuff to do before you come over..."

"Oh, sure! I don't want to intrude on you, or anything. Oh, and one more thing. About your second cousins..." Setting the list down I looked over at Rikku, who seemed to be rousing Auron.

"Yeah?"

"They will be gone by the time I get there, right? This is a family sort of thing, and I didn't plan on having them over..." I watched as Auron grunted, and shifted a hand or too. What a nasty bump he had...

"No, no, they'll be gone. Now I really have to go, okay grandma? Love you, call me soon, okay?" Making a few kissing noises I slammed the phone down, clutching the piece of paper and stalking over to Auron, who was just lifting his body from the soapy mess that has drifted in around him while he was knocked out. Raising his head he placed his one good eye on me, glasses askew across his face.

"I tried to stop them."

"Tried to stop them, huh? TRIED TO STOP THEM!?? TRIED???" Chest heaving I stared at him, vision blurring in madness. "I have an hour and a half to clean this place up like it was before, and hide you guys _somewhere_ before my grandma comes prancing through that door! Now what, I presume, am I supposed to do? Huh? HUH?"

A loud snort emanated from Wakka, as he turned over in the bubbly slime. A few lone bubbles flew into the air as he breathed out a little, be he didn't wake up. A low groan drifted in from the mudroom, and Rikku stood behind Auron, seemingly shocked.

"Hey, Sara... calm down, okay?" Rikku said timidly, shoulders hunched. "We can help you clean this up, you know?"

Anger beginning to fade I looked over at the movement in the mudroom as Tidus walked out slowly. Seeming to have passed out from the shock he looked at me fuzzily, shaking his head.

"What... time is it, anyway?"

Feeling despair fill my stomach I sank to the ground, rubbing my forehead. There was no way I would be able to clean this up before my grandma came. Not in a million years. Looking up at Auron, who was now standing, I gave him the saddest look I could muster, and sighed heavily.

"What does the list say?" Looking down at the piece of paper I opened it, straightening it on the floor.

"Cook meal for grandma. She likes potatoes." Glancing over at the mounds and mounds of dishes that littered the kitchen, I saw that Yuna and Lulu weren't the best of cooks.

"Make sure to dress chicken for tomorrow night." My mind flashed back to the chicken that had my dad's sweater wrapped around it. I felt the corners of my mouth tug up a little, but continued reading.

"Put dirty dishes in Dishwasher." Wakka snorted again, turning face down into the bubbly puddles. His cloths were soaked, and he seemed to enjoy it. I felt my lips tug up a little more, but still felt Auron's gaze on me.

"One more... Cook a pie for grandma. Use microwave." Sniffing a little I noticed an odd smell in the room, and quickly stood as I realized what it was. The microwave! Running over to the sparking machine I tugged the door open, coughing as a wave of smoke escaped into my face. "They left the knife in here, from cutting the holes in the top of the pie..." I said, pulling it out. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and slowly turned.

"Hey, this place is a mess. How are you going to clean it up?" Smirking at Tidus's question I looked over at the couch, at Auron and Rikku standing behind me, and at Wakka who was just beginning to get up.

"Oh, I'm not the only one who's going to be cleaning this place up..." I said, trailing off. "You guys are going to be helping too..."

- -

Chaos. Udder Chaos. But it was working, and that's all that counted.

Wakka was vacuuming and spot cleaning with a steam cleaner. Having inhaled a few bubbles from the soupy water he was acting a little weird, and had put on one of my sisters pink shirts that said 'Princess' over the front. I had tried to make him take it off, but he pushed me away rather forcefully and said 'Don't go there, girlfriend!' This had been enough of a response for everyone to keep there distance.

Yuna was busy dusting, twirling and jumping about the house as if it was one huge dance. It was cool to watch, and she had the odd knack of blending it perfectly with rock songs, like 'Balls to the Wall' which was currently blaring through the speakers.

Lulu was busy cleaning the dishes by hand, because I really didn't trust the dishwasher after what Yuna had done to it. Although she didn't seem to mind the scrubbing, you could tell by the lines in her face that she wasn't having the best time of her life, anyway.

Kimahri was cleaning up the mudroom, sweeping and humming in his deep baritone voice. He was very good at cleaning out corners, for his tail acted a lot like a dust magnet. Then, he'd just shake it off outside, and continue.

Rikku was bouncing around, given the job of picking up the kitchen and living room. I hadn't even given her any sort of caffeine, and she was literally bounding off the walls. Or she used to be. I had told her to stop after finding a few foot marks across the clean white paint. Now she was just bouncing, if not incredibly high and peaking at almost impossible lengths.

Tidus was washing the floor, down on his hands and knees because I couldn't find the Swiffer. Mumbling as he always did in the game he scrubbed a particular dirty spot on the wood. He was a very good cleaner none the less, but still, very annoying.

And Auron? He was cooking. Coat thrown over the couch and shoes kicked off, it accrued to me he looked very weird barefoot. I had told everyone to take off their shoes, because it was marking up the carpet, and making Wakka's job harder. But Auron almost looked... naked without his shoes. But cooking? I had never even thought he would be a good cook. But according to the rest of the team, he made the best food around. So, I had given him the job of cooking dinner, for all of them as well as my grandma. It smelled pretty good, I would admit that.

Me? I was busy painting over that huge scorch mark on the wall. Lulu had done it, apparently. She had turned the stovetop burner on to fry up some chicken, but it hadn't gone exactly as planned. I quickly noticed that the wall would need several coats, but was almost finished, as was everyone else in the house. Glancing over at the clock I saw it was 6:58. Half and hour left. Sighing I dipped my paint brush in the can, and continued.

- -

"Finally, we're done!" I said, throwing the now-clean paintbrush back into the drawer I had found it from. Smiling I looked at our work, the crew of seven standing behind me. The floors were clean, the dishes were done. Dinner for nine was packed away in the fridge, and the wall was pure white. Everything was literally sparkling, and I was glad. And with 10 minutes to spare. Turning to my group I smiled, a huge weight lifting off my chest.

"Satisfied?" I turned to Lulu and nodded, which seemed to, oddly enough, make her happy.

"Now, all we have to do is hide you guys up in my room, and then we will be set!" Smiling I heard a small creek from the mudroom, and then a squeak that sounded oddly enough like 'Sara!' Smile fading I turned, my features quickly turning from happiness to horror.

It was Zach and Emily. My siblings. And that could only mean...

"Sara, it's me, grandma! I came over early!"

- - - - -

Oh no! What will I do? If my grandma sees my 'second cousins' still over, she will freak! Will I get them away in time? Or will my parents be getting a surprise phone call...

**Rikkoshaye**


	6. Food Fiasco

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

- - - - -

**- Food Fiasco -**

Clunk.

Ker-thump.

"Grandma!"

Eyes wide I watched as my grandma fell to the ground, resembling a pile of old, wrinkly cloths. Sucking in a breath I stared disbelievingly, wrapping a hand around my brother, who was curled around my waist.

Auron stood above his victim, rubbing his hand absentmindedly as he looked down at her limp form. My sister, who had just entered our house and had seen what had happened, quickly fell to the ground and started yelling my grandma's name, pushing her back and forth anxiously. My brother, arms still latched around my waist, looked down in disbelief.

"Your grandmother has an unusually hard head..." Auron said, stepping backwards. Still in shock I said nothing, just stared. But my sister was a different story.

"What... what did you DO?" Standing up quickly she stalked over to Auron, eyes squelched and hands on her hips. "YOU KILLED MY GRANDMA!" A huge sob racked her body and she turned back to the human laying on the ground, flinging herself back down at her. My brother, very confused, began to cry, hugging me tight and burying his face into my waist. Auron just looked at both of them, bewildered, as did the rest of the team.

"You just knocked her out, right?" I said in a calm voice that even surprised myself. Auron nodded, his hand dropping to his side.

"Of course." I watched at Yuna walked forward, bare feet tapping quietly on the wood floor.

"Hey, don't cry now. You heard Sir Auron, she's just knocked out. She'll be fine." Yuna rubbed her hand comfortingly on my sister's back, slowly taking her arm and pulling her up. My brother, who's sobs were just as loud as before, was quickly becoming angry cries as well.

"Why did you do that? Huh? Why did you kill my grandma?" He pulled himself loose from my grasp and walked a few steps toward Auron, who looked down at him with a hint of confusion on his face. It was like he had never dealt with children before.

"I did not kill her. She could not be allowed to see us. It would result in something... unsatisfactory." Auron turned his head to look at the scene he had created, his face becoming calm again. Walking up to my brother I pulled him back, looking down at him.

"Hey, Zach, calm down. If grandma saw all these people here, she would have freaked." Sniffling my brother looked up at me with hatred, quickly wrenching himself from my grasp.

"I'm gunna call dad and tell on you!"

No, Zach! No!" Grabbing his arm I yanked him back, watching as his butt hit the floor. Looking up at me his face turned into an even bigger frown, and he began to cry even harder.

"Your always doing stuff dad doesn't want you to! I hate you! Leave me alone!" Picking himself up he ran wailing up the stairs, toward his room. Running past me Rikku followed him, turning to me as she pranced by.

"I'll take care of this, okay?" I nodded, and turned back to my grandma.

"She's just knocked out, see?" Yuna said, touching my grandma's neck and watching as my sibling did the same. My sister's crying had subsided into a few sniffles, as they scrutinized my grandma. Lulu was busy getting a wet rag for her forehead, and Wakka was watching from afar, while Kimahri was looking down with his usual stoic look. Walking up to them I passed Auron, giving him a slight frown.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"And what else was I to do? Get us kicked out by an old knave?" Cocking an eyebrow he waited for my answer, a small half-smile touching his lips. Not able to hold back a small giggle I punched him lightly, turning to my grandma.

"You have a point there, mister 'tight ass.'" Looking back at him I cocked my own eyebrow, meeting his small frown.

"'Tight ass?'"

Laughing I kneeled down to my grandma, looking over at my sister.

"Who are these people, Sara?" Looking over at Yuna, who was turning my grandma over onto her back and motioning to Kimahri, I poked my head out of the mudroom, and spotted Tidus watching the end of the Soap Opera on TV. Rolling my eyes I pulled my sister over, and pointed.

"Do you see him?" My sister squinted, finally noticing the blonde hairs poking over the couch back.

"Yeah. Who is it?" Clearing my throat I cupped a hand around my mouth.

"Tidus?"

"Yeah?" Seemingly unaware of the commotion he looked over at me, one eye still on the TV screen.

"Now, Emily, where have you seen this face before?" My sister had only played a little of FFX. Just enough to realize that she thought Tidus was hot. Squinting I watched as she tried to place where she had saw this man, and then her eyeballs grew large.

"He looks just like that guy, from Final Fantasy or whatever..." Making a little gun sign with my hand I pointed it at Tidus's head, and pretended to shoot at him.

"Bingo."

"Wait, but that means... That those movies were made with real people! And that this guy is a movie star!" Forgetting completely about our grandma my sister scrambled upwards, flinging herself over the couch and into Tidus's lap. Rolling my eyes I turned around, and bumped right smack into Kimahri's shin.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing?" Looking up I saw that Yuna and Kimahri both had a hold on my grandma, and were walking slowly out of the mudroom.

"Kimahri and Yuna taking grandma upstairs."

"What?" I looked at them, bewildered.

"Your grandma can't stay down here. As long as she was knocked out, she would get in the way. And by the looks of it..." Yuna pulled some hair back from my grandma's head, revealing a rather large bump, "She'll be out for a while."

"A long while." Lulu added, placing the wet cloth gently onto my grandma's forehead. Scrambling up onto my feet I watched them go, passing my descending brother as they brought her up the stairs.

"Hey little man! How ya doing, ya?" Looking behind my shoulder I saw Wakka holding out a hand in a 'high five' way, his pink shirt dangling from one arm. I wasn't the only one who was relieved he had finally taken the thing off, I could see that.

"Leave me alone." My brother shot me a venom-like look, and stepped closer to Rikku who was leading him to us. Listening I heard Tidus boasting about his Blitzball tournaments in the background, and my sister sucking it in like a sponge. Rolling my eyes for the umpteenth time I watched as my brother came to a stop beside me, not daring to look me in the eye.

"So... when is dinner, ya?" Breathing in quickly I snapped my fingers, looking over at the fridge.

"That's right! Who's hungry?"

- -

After Wakka had set the table and Yuna, Kimahri, and Lulu had came back from putting my grandma in my parents bed and Tidus's Soap Opera was done, Rikku and Auron began dishing out the food.

"Man, you guys eat a lot..." I said, looking at the amount of food piled on each of their plates. We all had to give a little to my brother and sister, but compared to the pounds and pounds of food that had been cooked, it wasn't that much. Picking up a fork I began digging hungrily into my own plate of food, not caring about the little flecks of food that got onto my face.

"Sara?" Looking up I saw that none of the guests, besides my brother and sister, were eating.

"Waagggt?" I said, mouth full. Lulu's face turned into a grimace at the sound, but Yuna didn't seem to notice and continued.

"Um... how do we eat with these?" Yuna picked up a fork and examined it, holding it with her index finger and thumb as if it was diseased. Swallowing I looked at her like she was crazy.

"What do you mean 'how do we eat with these?' It's a fork!"

"Fork?" I looked at them, disbelieving.

"What, do you use sticks to eat or something?" I raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly.

"Well ya, duh!" Wakka began to laugh at his own joke, and I looked at him, one eye squished in confusion. And then it hit me. Final Fantasy X was created by people who lived in Japan. And what do they use as utensils in Japan? Chopsticks. Mentally slapping myself in the forehead I felt myself turning red with stupidity.

"Oh, you mean chopsticks..." I laughed a little, grabbing the back of my neck and rubbing it as I looked down at my food. I could feel nine sets of eyes all boring into my face. "Well, uh, we don't have those here..."

"What? Then how are we suppose to eat, ya?" Wakka looked at me oddly, the rest following suit. Sighing I picked up my fork, and jammed it down into the food.

"You kind of spear it. Like is." I picked up my fork again and shoved it down into more of the food, pulling it up and examining the points. "Then, you eat it." Shoving the steel utensil into my mouth I clamped down, retrieving the fork from my mouth while chewing the food. "Sshhhree?" I said, mouth full. Nodding oddly Wakka looked at his own fork, and then at the food. I suddenly felt a little poke at my side and looked down, spotting my brother.

"Sara, these people are weird..." he said, swallowing his own mouthful of food.

"Tell me about it..." Hearing a clang I looked up, just to see Tidus begin mashing his fork into his plate of food.

"No! Tidus! Your going to..." I let the sentence hang as his plate broke into a million pieces, one flying past my eye at a alarmingly fast rate. "...break it." Sighing I pushed my thumb in the space between both eyebrows, trying to get rid of the headache that was quickly forming.

"Uh... sorry..." Tidus looked at me apologetically, laughing a little. Snarling back at him I speared an alarmingly large bit of food and shoved it into my mouth, almost choking as I swallowed it. I almost dared the others to say something about my rash behavior, but all they did was give me odd looks.

"Here, let me try." Lulu picked up her fork gracefully, carefully sticking it through a piece of lettuce. She quickly did it again, and again, filling her fork. Then, placing it into her mouth she made a grimace as she clamped down and pulled the fork out. It made an odd screeching noise as it was pulled, but she did it.

"Um, you don't have to bite down so hard, you know... but good job!" I smiled weakly, watching as my sister rolled her eyes and continued eating. Slowly everyone became used to the fork, and after replacing Tidus's plate, we were okay. At least until Yuna noticed something else.

"Hey Sara, what does this do?" She asked, holding up a spoon.

"Oh no, not again..."

- -

"Alright. So I'll grab the floor. Rikku will take my nook-" I pointed to the small room connected to my room, "Yuna and Lulu will take my bed-" I gestured toward the queen size that took up most of my room, "Wakka and Tidus will take the hall-" I looked toward my open bedroom door, "and Auron will take big room over the garage, along with Kimahri. Is that right?" Several nods answered my question, and I smiled, rubbing my tired eyes.

"Hey, Sara... who are these people?" My brother asked, from outside the doorway and next to Rikku. He had seemed to take a liking to her, as much as you could to a stranger. "Did dad say they could be here?" Sighing I nodded, not wanting to get into a fight with my brother.

I saw my sister begin to fidget, and she grabbed instinctively at her face. "They're movie stars!" she blurted, eyes big and shiny. Giggling she flashed a look over to Tidus, who gave her a big celebrity smile back. If I didn't know better, I thought for sure that I had seen Auron roll his eyes. But with those sunglasses, who can be sure.

"Well, guys, I guess we better hit the sack-"

"Sack? What sack, ya?" Wakka looked around, confused. I touched my temples briefly, trying to keep the oncoming migraine at bay.

"It's just an expression, Wakka."

"Oh." I saw his face turn red as he drifted toward the back of the group.

"As I was saying, I think it's time to hit the sack. Tomorrow I think I'll call up my friend Tony, and see what he can make of all of this. Then, maybe, we can get you guys back into your game." Yuna looked at me, tilting her head.

"Game?" Eyes growing wide I realized they didn't know that they were from a video game. And, I hadn't told them yet. Looking at their confused eyes I decided that they weren't ready to know, either. Stuttering I thought quick, coming up with an explanation.

"Game? Did I say game?" I laughed, grabbing the back of my neck. "I meant... pilgrimage. You guys need to go and destroy Sin and all, and so, you know..." My face grew hot and I laughed again. I watched as their faces relaxed a little, all except for Auron's. He still looked at me, his one good eye boring into my face. But I tried to ignore that.

"Hey, Sara, can Tidus sleep with me?" I looked over at Emily, who's eyes were still shining oddly.

"No, Emily. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight. Today has been... too long." Yawning I turned and marched into the center of my room, grabbing an extra blanket from my closet and curling up on the floor.

"Everyone try to get some sleep, and then we'll try to sort this all out in the morning..."

- - - - -

What will Tony have to say tomorrow? How long will it take before my grandma awakens? What other sorts of 'forbidden machina' will we run into before I get these guys back home? We shall see...

**Rikkoshaye**


	7. Revelations

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Revelations -**

"I am here... beware..."

Sucking in quickly my eyes snapped open, my torso rising with my quick heartbeats. A cold sweat covered my skin and my hands shook, a remnant of fear circulating in my gut. I waited slowly for my breathing to slow, as a headache began to throb dully at the back of my head.

"That was odd..." I said, putting a hand to my head as soon as the fear melted away. Looking over to the window I saw early morning light filtering through the blinds, the clock flashing 7:01. "Why am I on the floor again?" I asked no one in particular, cracking my stiff neck. As the film from my eyes began to clear I looked over into my nook.

"Holy. Shit."

Rising quickly I looked down at Rikku, who was laying on her stomach and drooling onto the floor. One bare foot stuck up into the air as she mumbled, shifting a little. Now I remembered why I was sleeping on the floor. And pinching myself proved I wasn't dreaming.

"Mmmm... yeah..."

Looking to my right I saw Lulu, clad in an over shirt of mine that was just a little too small. Tucked around her was my comforter, leaving Yuna shivering on the other side of the bed.

"Huh, Lulu, a cover-hog. Who would have guessed?" I giggled a little, taking my own blanket and placing it over Yuna. Opening my bedroom door I frowned as it caught on Tidus's shin, which was poking out of his bunched-up pants. 'Man does he have hairy legs...' I thought, grimacing.

Looking up I saw Tidus's hands latched around Wakka's waist, face buried into Wakka's exposed stomach. Every time Tidus exhaled a smile fluttered onto Wakka's face. I figured it must tickle.

Yeah, that was it.

Stepping over both of them I turned the hall corner, entering the room I had first found my seven 'guests' in. A pang of sadness touched my heart as I saw the broken remains of my PS2 littering the floor, the carpet scorched and black.

Kimahri was sleeping next to the remains, curled in a feline position. His tail thumped softly against the floor as one hand loosely gripped his curled legs, the other stuck out at an odd angle. He looked peaceful and happy, much unlike his usual stoic demeanor.

Looking to my right I saw a pile of weapons, including a couple swords, a doll, a spear, a ball, a staff, and a weird machine-like contraption.

"Ah, so that's where they went..." Stepping around the weapons I saw a few sheaths as well, and other weapon-holding equipment. Smiling a little I remembered wondering where the team kept there 'tools' out of battles. Right with them, so it seemed.

Finally noticing a shadow that covered some of the weapons, I looked up to a window that faced the rising sun. And there, of course, was Auron.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early?" I asked, walking up and placing my elbows on the windowsill next to him. The window was open, the morning breeze making his hair sway slightly, and goose bumps rise on my arms. Without even turning to look at me he spoke, voice steady.

"I should ask you the same thing."

Smiling a little I turned and looked out at the sunrise, red and orange with clouds floating across lazily.

"It's beautiful." Auron nodded, closing his eye.

"It is."

Watching him I saw a sad, lonely look pass his face briefly. My heart went out for the man, in a sympathetic way. In his world he was loved, famous, practically even worshiped. But in a sense he was more alone then anyone could ever imagine.

Turning his head slightly he looked at me, glasses flashing in the morning sun. He seemed to be studying me, thinking about something and placing me into his thoughts. I shuffled my feet, looking away.

"Last night, you said something..." I looked up and saw him looking back out the window, head turned toward me slightly. "...something about a game."

Brow furrowing I racked my thoughts, brain still a little foggy from waking up. Then it hit me.

"Oh, that? No I screwed up. I meant pilgrimage." Laughing a little I felt my face grow hot. I hoped Auron didn't notice.

"I disagree."

Turning to look at me I saw his one eye slit, glasses flashing once again. He and caught me, and he knew it. Mumbling I looked back out the window, a gust of wind pushing my hair back.

"Well, if I told you, I doubt you would believe me. Hell, I certainly wouldn't, in your situation." There was a short pause as Auron seemed to think, breathing in the morning air.

"A fact does not need to be believed for it to be true." Looking at him sideways my brow furrowed.

"Are you saying you won't believe me?"

The pause was longer this time, and I watched a cloud turn colors as it drifted across the sky as he contemplated his answer.

"I have known many facts that are thought to be lies."

Looking at him oddly I dropped my elbows from the windowsill, studying his stoic face.

"What kind of answer is that?" He smirked, glasses flashing.

"A good one."

Laughing I walked into the middle of the room, pausing by the pile of weapons. Plopping down on the ground I ran a finger around what could only be Auron's blade, the shininess and sharpness surprising me. It was apparent that this man cared for his weapons deeply.

"Well, you see..." A shadow dulled the weapons as Auron stepped closer, his bare feet making surprisingly little noise. Sitting down cross-legged next to me he grabbed his sword with his hands, flipping around slowly while bringing it into the light.

"Go on."

Nodding I continued. "You see, in our world... Well, my world, I suppose. Anyway, in my world, there are these things... things..." Auron stopped fingering his sword and looked at me, brow arching. I swallowed, and began running my finger around Tidus's sword, which was rusted at the corners and not nearly as shiny.

"On Earth, there are these things we call video games. They are played on a TV, and the person who plays them gets to control one character in the game. The games are never real, and are created of data and numbers and pixels." I said this all very fast, looking over at Auron who had his stoic mask firmly in place. "Are you getting any of this?" Auron nodded.

"They had similar things in Zanarkand." Raising my eyebrows I 'ooohed,' nodding once or twice.

"That's right, you went to Zanarkand after you died, didn't you?" Visibly flinching Auron looked back toward the window, setting his sword down on his lap gently. Grimacing I knew I had touched something deep inside that still hurt. And perhaps he was not ready to talk about it yet.

"Uh, anyway, the story of Zanarkand, of Spira and Yuna's journey to defeat Sin is... well, this might sound a little odd, but it is a video game in our world." I saw Auron's head turn toward me slightly.

"I have heard... worse." His voice was tender, quiet. I continued, looking at the sun as it shined through the window.

"And, I have finished this video game. Multiple times. I... well, in a sense, I know your future." Lifting a corner of my mouth in a half-hearted smile I looked at him, hoping for some sort of response. What I got wasn't exactly what I expected.

"So, in Zanarkand..." I nodded, looking away.

"I know everything." Auron said nothing, still keeping his gaze averted from mine. After a few minutes of this I began feeling a little uncomfortable and stood, planning on going and checking on how the others were faring.

"Wait." Looking down I saw Auron slowly turn to face me, eyes still hidden behind his glasses. "Promise me-" I smiled a little, stopping him in the middle of his sentence.

"Don't worry. I won't tell them anything." A half smile touched Auron's lips.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

- -

Listening to the mechanized ringing sound I waited for someone, anyone to pick up. The house was quiet, besides Auron's light footsteps as he paced the kitchen. Biting my lip I hoped that Tony was home; though he was the weirdest of my friends, he was the only person I knew that even had the chance of believing my story. Unfortunately, without any idea of what to do with my new-found guests, asking him for advice was the only option I could think of.

"Hello?" A yawn emanated from the other side of the machine, and I looked over at the clock. Grimacing I noticed it was only 8:12.

"Hey, Tony?" I waited as another large yawn came rumbling through the phone.

"You woke me up. YOU WOKE ME UP!!!" Rolling my eyes I waited as Tony's sarcastic fit flew by my ear, sighing into the phone.

"Hey, Tony, your not gunna believe this..."

"Yeah, but you WOKE ME UP!! ARGHHH!!!" Holding the phone away from my ear I clenched my teeth as Tony yelled again, ending in his choppy laughter. His unusually high voice was not helping my headache, and I wasn't in the mood for his regular weirdness.

"Tony, come on, I really need to talk to you. It's serious!"

"Oh, serious huh? Huh? HUH?" Growling I yanked the phone away from my ear and shoved it next to my mouth, breathing deeply.

"TONY! I HAVE A SITUATION HERE! IF YOU DON'T CUT THE SHIT I WILL NEVER LET YOU COME OVER AND PLAY GRAND THEFT AUTO EVER AGAIN!!!!!" Placing the phone back onto my ear I heard Auron's footsteps slow, and I looked over at him. Eyebrow raised he looked at me over his glasses, chuckling a little to himself. Rolling my eyes I switched my attention back to the phone, as Tony began to talk again.

"Okay, fine, be that way. Humph." I clenched my teeth as he kept up his sarcastic act, trying to keep my anger at bay.

"Okay, you aren't going to believe this, but you know FFX?" I waited as Tony thought for a second.

"Yeah…?"

"And you know the people _in_ FFX?"

"OH! OH! You mean... wait, I have the name here... Tidus is one of them, right?" Clenching an eye I looked off into space, confused by his oblivious answers.

"Tony, have you ever even played FFX?"

"Well, I saw my friend Jake play it..." Slapping my forehead I ran my hand down my face, moaning loudly.

"You've played every other Final Fantasy game! Why not this one?" Hearing a mad 'humph' from the other side of the line Tony's voice became serious, as it always did when he launched into his life problems.

"Sara. I have been grounded off the computer for 2 years. I have had my games taken away for even longer. What makes you think I would even have a console to play the game on?" Moaning again into the phone I racked my brain for another idea, but came up with nothing.

"Hey Sara, why are you calling me so early about Final Fantasy X? I mean, is it important or anything? What does it have to do with me?" Sighing I slumped down into the living room couch, shaking my head. "Never mind, it's not a big deal. Sorry for waking you up Tony, I hope you have a good rest of the day…"

- - - - -

Oh no! Tony was a flop! Will I find another contact for my FFX dilemma? What will happen when my other six guests finally wake up? And what about my grandma? We shall find out, after a few messages...

**Rikkoshaye**


	8. Granny Gimmicks

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8th, 2007_

- - - - -

**- Granny Gimmicks -**

Twirling my spoon around in my cereal my mind wandered, going over the options I had left. Auron was seated at the island, fingering his robe which was laying over the counter. He seemed distant and far away, as if thinking about something. What, I wasn't sure.

Sighing I noticed a movement in the corner of my eye, and looked up. Tidus and Wakka, both looking a little disturbed, were walking down the stairs and being strangely quiet. Smiling a little I remembered how they were sleeping, holding back a chuckle_. 'That must have been embarrassing...'_ I thought, pausing my spoon movement.

"So, Sara, when are you going to call Tommy?"

"It's Tony, and I already did." I said, resuming my spoon movement. Lifting the soggy cereal to eye level I watched as it dripped back down into the bowl. "He was no help."

"So, now what, ya?" I looked up at Wakka, face drawn.

"I... don't know."

"SARA!!" The blood curdling scream echoed around the house, startling me. Head snapping to the side I stood up, dropping my spoon. Running toward the stairs I saw my brother and sister round the corner and into the kitchen, followed closely by Yuna, whose hair was sticking up everywhere.

"It's your grandmother..." Yuna panted, eyes wide. "She's..."

"SARA DEANN JENSEN!"

I gulped, stomach dropping to my feet.

"Shit."

Sprinting up the stairs I was quickly followed by my sister and brother, Yuna frantically patting her hair and Auron striding calmly behind them. Walking quietly down the hall I opened my parent's door slowly, peeking inside. Grandma was up alright. And she was not happy.

Eyes huge and panicked she was quickly advancing toward the door, having spotted the movement of me opening it. Gasping I shut it in her face, hearing an enraged 'grandma howl' as it clipped her nose.

"Help!" Bracing myself against the wood I tried to keep the handle from turning, as Yuna and Auron came in and helped lean against the door. Emily and Zach watched as Tidus came up the stairs, closely followed by Wakka.

I noticed Zach's face begin getting more and more scrunched by the second, his eyes darting from me to the door to the sounds of my grandma's howls.

"Sara, let grandma out!" His voice wavered, and I could almost feel the air change as it got ready for the onset of tears. Although small and weak, my brother could knock down an elephant with his wails. Emily, on the other hand, seemed to be totally oblivious to the whole situation. Stars beginning to show in her eyes she walked over to Tidus, her body screaming 'flirt.'

Wakka looked over as my door opened and Lulu emerged from my room, a blanket wrapped around her body and her feet sticking out. She had abnormally large feet I noticed suddenly, looking down as she wiggled her toes.

"What's going on here?" Lulu asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Braids sticking out at odd angles she gathered the blanket closer to her, sniffling a little and blinking rapidly. Meanwhile my brother's mouth began to tremble. Looking over guiltily at Auron and Yuna I kneeled down, putting my hands on my brother's shoulders.

"Don't cry Zach. We aren't going to hurt grandma." Ripping his shoulders away from me a tear slid down his cheek. Grimacing I turned away, trying to shelter my eardrums from the wails that were sure to come. And come they did.

"YEAH RIGHT SARA!! YOU ALWAYS HURT PEOPLE! YOU'RE NEVER NICE TO ANYONE!!!" Sobs racked his body as he ran into his room, slamming the door. There was a pause. His door opened slightly and he stuck his head out, looking directly at me with tears streaming down his face. "AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" Slamming the door again he began to scream and wail, having his own little tantrum. I couldn't hear what exactly he was saying, but I had a pretty good idea.

"Sara..."

Looking over at Yuna I saw an odd look cross her face as she pressed her ear to the door. Walking over to them I could feel my headache begin to pound again from my brother's screeches, and I rubbed my temples slowly.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning against the door once again.

"Your grandma hasn't said anything for a little while now..." Seeing the worried expression on Yuna's face I clutched the handle tightly, putting my own ear to the wood.

Silence...

Curiosity coming over me I turned the knob slowly, sticking an eyeball through the crack and trying not to be noticeable. It wouldn't have mattered, because my grandma wasn't facing the door. She was doing something, in the corner of the room... Gasping I threw the door open, suddenly realizing what was happening. There was a phone in my parent's bedroom. And my grandma was calling someone.

"Thank you, officer."

The police.

"NO, GRANDMA!!" Running into the room I wrenched my grandma away from the machine, just as she finished setting it down. With a smug look on her face my grandma smiled, crossing her arms. Mouth dropping I let go of her, stepping away. She knew she had won.

As my brother likes to say, we were in deep doo-doo. And there was no end of it in sight.

Hearing some faint grunting I looked over, seeing Tidus hobble into the room. I noticed my sister had taken it upon herself to attach herself to his side, her eyes clouded and mouth in a foolish grin.

"Hey, Auron? Why don't you knock the old lady out again?" I saw an annoyed look cross Tidus's face as he finished his sentence. He then attempted to peel my sister off of his side, but unfortunately, it didn't work so well. Auron stepped into the room, looking at me for approval. Shaking my head I rubbed my face, my mind pulling a total blank.

"No, it'll just make the whole situation worse..." Lulu suddenly popped her head into the room around Auron's bulk, holding a moogle I had seen previously in the other room.

"Perhaps if I 'shock' her?"

'Tempting...' I thought, looking at the moogle. But in the end I shook my head again, watching my grandma's eyes flash wickedly. I never did particularly like this grandma... but...

"No, no. Can you imagine what the police will say if they find the person who called them knocked out? Not good for us." Watching Lulu's face drop I suddenly heard the familiar doorbell chime in the background. Sucking in quickly I peeked my head out of the door frame and looked down the stairs.

The police were here.

"Everyone..." I whispered, watching the police officer's head look back and forth, but not up. Yet, that is. "Hide somewhere. Make sure your concealed. And whatever happens, DON'T COME OUT."

Watching as everyone scrambled into my room I smoothed my hair, walking down the stairs and trying to look nonchalant. Leaving my grandma to her own devices I opened the door, looking the officer up and down and swallowing.

"Yes, we got a call from someone named Mary... apparently her granddaughter and some delinquents locked her in her daughter's bedroom..." The airy voice tumbled down on me as I looked up into the officer's face, mind racing. What was I going to tell this guy? How could I get him out of here?

"Well, uh, officer, you see..." I searched my mind for something, anything. But my mind might as well of been a rock. There was nothing there, and the man was beginning to walk inside. Swallowing I stepped out of his way, looking down.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?" The officer suddenly asked me, stopping in his tracks. Looking back up at the cop's face I squinted, thinking. Then it came to me.

"Wait a sec..." I squinted again, thinking. 'Nah, it couldn't be? Could it?'

"I pulled you over yesterday! On that ATV..." He said suddenly in a burst of emotion and then trailing off, voice dawdling. Then I saw his face pull into a smirk as he put one hand on his holster.

"Oh, yeah..." I laughed nervously, putting a hand on the back of my neck.

"So those 'people' you were riding with were locking your grandma into her room, huh?" Laughing himself he looked up, my eyes following suit. My grandma was standing at the top of the stairs, grinning like crazy.

"That's right officer!" Her voice was high and screechy, a total difference then the kind monotone it had been the day before. "And they hid right in there!" Grinning triumphantly she pointed to my room, a hand on her hip. Smirking down at me the officer started striding up the stairs, making sure I followed behind him.

Sighing I let my shoulders sag, head down. I had failed them, and now they were going to go to jail. And there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Well, not me, anyway.

"You know..." The officer said, stopping halfway up the staircase. "Yesterday you had me convinced that those... people you were riding with on that ATV were from a video game I played not too long ago." Laughing his eyes flashed. "Stupid, hmm? I have no idea what came over me… now it's obvious that I never should have let you guys go." The cop smirked at me, his obvious thoughts of what a stupid child I was oozing out of his facial features. I felt anger boil up inside me, but pushed it away. This guy was trying to drag out his victory over me. What a jack-ass. Looking up I set my face, determined not to give into his little games.

"Well, actually..." I let the sentence hang, mouth dropping open and staying that way. Looking at me funny the officer turned to where I was staring, and suddenly backed up a little, hand gripping his gun handle.

"WHOA!"

There, behind my grandma, was Kimahri.

I totally forgot that he had slept through the whole predicament, and I watched dumbfounded as he yawned, a roar rumbling from his lips at the same time. Turning around my grandma gasped, body tensing and then freezing as she stared at the blue cat.

"Kimahri have good sleep. Nice floor here." He thumped his foot on the floor, teeth bearing in what could only be a ronso smile. One that could give nightmares, that is. Looking at the officer and my grandma oddly he turned his head, scratching a place on his rump. "Who these people?"

Screaming suddenly my grandma gripped the railing, her legs shaking and her knuckles white. Shimmying ten feet around Kimahri she continued to scream, nearly tripping down the stairs and clutching onto the cop as she ran into his chest.

Still staring at the large blue cat the cop's mouth hung open, grunts coming out if his tense body. Finally he managed to push out a quiet, strained word.

"Kimahri?"

Kimahri turned to the officer, his yellow eyes focusing as he crossed his arms. Growling a little in his throat he flicked his tail, clearly annoyed.

"What."

I tiny squeak came out of the officer's mouth as his jaw snapped shut, wrapping his arms tightly around my grandma. Just then Rikku popped her head out of my door, also yawning.

"Hey, what's with all the noise out here? And why is Auron in your closet, Sara?"

That was enough for the officer. Eyes wide he turned around swiftly, hands locked around my screaming grandma. Yanking her down the stairs he shoved her out the front door, turning around one last time before slamming the door shut.

"You people are crazy! I'm never coming back here again!" And with that he was gone, running to his car and diving down the street at speeds even his own kin would pull him over for. Sighing I turned to Kimahri, who was listening to Rikku ramble on about some dream she just had.

"Thank you, Kimahri." I said, climbing my way back up into my room. Kimahri nodded his head, following me and totally forgetting about Rikku as she continued to ramble. Opening the closet door quickly my face became fixed as six people came tumbling out, all yelling and cursing and scrambling away from each other.

"Gees, you guys didn't all have to hide in the same place..." I said, grimacing.

"That is what I said..." Lulu stated, peeling herself off of Wakka's lap, who had turned a bright tomato red and was giggling furiously. Yuna un-stuck herself from Auron's side, who looked very annoyed at the whole predicament, while Tidus waddled out on his feet, unable to sit down because Emily was still firmly plastered to his side.

"Could you get this girl OFF of me?" Tidus asked, pleading. Snorting I looked him up and down, my sister's eyes all glassy and her arms digging into his waist. Making a "tisking" noise, Tidus put a hand on his waist, gesturing toward my sister. "Come on! She's killing me!" Rolling my eyes I stepped up to them, leaning down to my sister's face.

"Whatever you say, Meg Ryan..."

"What?"

"Never mind." Blowing at her eyeballs I watched them dry and flutter, and a spasm racked her body. But she didn't wake up. Blowing harder I frowned, as she was clearly in what I could only call her 'happy place.' A little something suddenly came to mind and I snapped my fingers, smiling.

"EMILY! YOUR GUNNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" I yelled, jumping out of the way as I watched my sister bolt up to her full height, eyes clearing and fingers twitching.

"What? SARA! How could you get me up so LATE!" Rushing out of the room she ran to her closet, and started picking out a pair of cloths. Shaking my head I turned to the crew, a few annoyed and a few sleepy, but all generally in one piece.

"Well, guys, I hate to tell you, but Tony was a flop..."

A few grim faces met my news, but I noticed Kimahri's eyes suddenly flicker and his ears turn. Looking at him oddly I cocked my head, wondering what he could possibly be listening to.

"Kimahri..." Yuna asked, also looking at him. Slowly everyone turned too, watching Kimahri's face scrunch into a few odd looks I had never seen him make before.

"Kimahri hear something... Something 'pinging.'" My eyebrows furrowing I watched as he stepped out of the room and sniffed, walking quietly out into the room me and Auron had had our little talk in. Tail flicking we all followed the blue animal as he stopped near a machine in the corner, looking back at me oddly.

"FORBIDDEN MACHINA!!!"

Looking over at Wakka as he screeched I rolled my eyes, watching him scoop up his weapon from the ground and get into a fighting position. Lulu, who looked annoyed and _very_ uncomfortable in her tight over shirt (her blanket had been left in the closet), walked over to him and slammed her finger into his chest.

"Look here, mister. I'm getting tired of all your little fits with all this 'forbidden machina.' It's too early for this. I really don't want to deal with your taboos at this time in the morning!" Eyes darkening she leaned closer, voice becoming quiet.

"Understand?"

Gulping Wakka dropped his weapon, his knees visibly shaking. "Yes, ma'am."

Surprised at Lulu's sudden fit I raised an eyebrow, as did everyone else. I wasn't used to Lulu getting out of control, although it was definitely in her nature. She was usually calm, collected... Suddenly the machine 'pinged' again and we all turned, looking at it.

"No way, I left the computer on the internet..." I mumbled quietly, walking over.

"Com...tooter?" Yuna said quietly, coming with me. "What is that?" 'Hm'ing I looked at the screen, attention divided.

"No, its computer, not comtooter... and... hey, this is it!" Eyes widening I jumped into the air, a sudden option coming to mind. Turning to the crew I smiled, pointing at the screen. "You guys, I have an idea!!" Laughing at their weird looks I jumped again, a weight lifting off my shoulders.

"I think I can get you home!"

- - - - -

Finally, there may be a way to get these guys out of here! But will it work? What information will the internet be able to offer me? There are only eight days left until my parents get back... will they get out of the house in time? We'll just have to find out now, won't we?  
**  
Rikkoshaye**


	9. Scrubs

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8__th__, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Scrubs -**

The internet hadn't given me as many answers as I thought it would.

Though I doubted that I would find much information on similar experiences, I had thought that maybe, somewhere, there would be clues to what a person could do if they were suddenly placed into an odd situation like mine. Maybe a number I could call for help, or a few steps I could take to remedy my situation, as it were. However, after a bit of searching, I was able to find a bit of interesting information.

For example, everyone who had tried to play their Final Fantasy X games in the last few days had ran across one small, tiny problem.

The main seven characters were completely gone.

Walking to my kitchen table I collapsed into a chair, the others filing in around me. Wakka, who looked weary from the sudden onset of machina, stood at the edge of the group. His knuckles were white from clasping his blitzball so tightly. He had left it hanging from his waist, and I watched it swing lazily as he paced about. Groaning I put my head down onto the table, closing my eyes.

"Now what?"

Looking up at Tidus I shook my head slowly, my gaze returning to the floor.

"I... don't know."

After filling my seven guests in on the fact that "the people in Spira had noticed their absence," (because, of course, I couldn't tell them what was really going on, and luckily they had only been programmed to read Japanese), I had found out a few more interesting facts. Not only were the main characters of Final Fantasy X missing, but Seymour had disappeared as well. Fiend encounters also seemed to have dropped, and interestingly enough, the characters that _were_ left, though they could be interacted with, only spoke to each other, and often about the disappearance of Tidus, Auron, Yuna, and the rest of the crew.

It all seemed very strange to me; almost as if the world of Final Fantasy X was much more than just a simple video game…

Then again, the people standing before me should have been proof enough of that.

Rubbing my temples I looked up at the people positioned around my table, sighing. They all looked at me, slightly confused looks on their faces. Tidus cocked his head sideways, one hand on his hip.

"You don't know?" He looked at me like he didn't believe it. I shook my head again, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, the phone began to ring.

Getting up and parting through the crowd of people I walked to the phone, picking it up on the third ring. Ignoring my small headache I put on my most cheerful voice, trying to fight back the impending grumpiness.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sara! Ready to go to the mall?"

Oh. Shit.

Letting out a small squeaky noise I leaned into the couch behind me, mind numbing. I had totally forgotten about the trip to the Mall of America I had planned with my friend, Samantha. Letting out a small sound I stared, mind beginning to race.

"Sara?"

"Uh, yeah, I remembered. I mean, I'm ready. Yeah." I tried to giggle, but it came out more as a squeak. We had been planning this forever, for months. I couldn't puke out. Not now. But what was I going to do about my visitors? And how was I going to get there, now that grandma (who was my ride) is gone?

There was a pause on the other line before Sam spoke.

"Sara, you didn't forget, did you? We've been planning this for months!"

I responded quickly, shaking my head even though she couldn't see it. "No, of course not! I've been waiting for it all week! How could I forget?"

She sighed, seemingly happy.

"Okay, good. You scared me for a second there." She laughed quickly, relieving her moment of stress. I laughed too, attempting to do the same thing.

It didn't work so well.

"So anyway, me and my mom will be leaving in about an hour or so. I wanted to tell you now so that we'll get there around the same time. I can't wait!" Hey voice rose, clearly excited. I couldn't say the same for myself, but I tried anyway.

"Me neither! So... I'll see you there then?"

"Yeah, alright. Buh-bye!"

"Bye!"

Putting the phone back into its charger I went back to the kitchen table, looking at my guests. Wakka's face was tight with fear as he eyed the phone wearily. Tidus looked confused, a studying look on his face. Yuna looked confused as well, but her face was strangely blank, while Lulu's was curled into a slight frown. Auron looked passive but seemed to be searching my face for something, while Kimahri looked stoic, as usual. Rikku was the only person with a smile on her face, albeit it was a small one.

"Well?" I looked over at Lulu, who had her arms around her protectively. I wasn't sure if it was to look menacing, or to try to get more comfortable in the small shirt she had on. I held out my hands, only one option coming to mind.

"It looks like we're all going on a little trip, everyone."

Auron cocked an eyebrow while Yuna looked at me, tilting her head.

"What kind of trip?" I smiled, not sure I wanted to go through with this. After the incident at the grocery store, I was a little weary of bringing the 'crew' anywhere. Holding out my hands I sighed, shrugging.

"We're all going to the Mall of America."

- -

"Alright, everyone, now that we have gone over how to turn on the shower..." I looked over at my seven slightly damp guests, all glaring at Wakka. After seeing the water come out of the pipe in the bathtub, he thought that it had to be a fiend getting ready to cast a water spell. Throwing the blitzball at it he just missed the faucet, but instead smacked it into the water, resulting in everyone being a sprayed with freezing cold droplets.

Needless to say, his blitzball was taken away soon after that.

Sitting on my bed I held a stack of clothes in my hands, smiling a little. Although Lulu looked almost grateful to get out of her tight shirt, the others looked slightly doubtful. But what could I say? They wouldn't blend in much if I let them go in what they were wearing.

Plus, they were starting to stink.

Grabbing the first two items off my pile I opened them up, facing Yuna.

"These, are for you."

Giving her a small stretchy red top that had a kitty on it, and a pair of blue jeans that flared out at the bottom, I smiled and she held it out and looked at it. She finally put it down, smiling back at me.

"Thank you."

Picking up my next three items I turned to Wakka, smirking. Throwing him a white muscle shirt and a thin over shirt that was blue and decorated with white dragons, I held up the last piece, smiling. Baggy and a dark denim blue they were the ultimate punk pants, complete with a network of chains. I had always wanted to see a Wakka-punk. Thankfully, this was my chance.

Scowling at the pants Wakka jerked his thumb at it, eyes clouded in disbelief. "I've got to wear that, ya?" I nodded, handing them to him. He held them an arms length away, clearly not happy. "But they are... 'gay'!"

I stared at him, as did everyone else. He turned slightly red, folding them up neatly.

"But I like them, ya..."

I scowled, grabbing my next set and looking away from him.

"This is for you, Lulu."

I handed her a large over shirt that was jet black and had '99 Devil' written on it. Faded black pants that I hoped fit her tight to the skin were the second part of the outfit, complete with a black belt with silver accents.

"It says 99 Devil." I told her, handing both garments over. I saw a small smile touch her lips and she ran her hand over the lettering.

"I like it." She said, looking up at me. I smiled, shuffling through the remaining cloths and picking out another outfit.

"Rikku..."

Tired of her swanky shirts and revealing shorts (which were much more embarrassing in person) I had picked out a nice shirt that went halfway down the arms but was slit at the belly button. It was a bright yellow, and matched the Capri pants I gave her, which were a modest faded blue.

Looking at the clothes briefly she stuck out her tongue, grimacing. "It's so... so..." She looked at me, gesturing.

"Modest?" I said, cocking an eyebrow. She nodded vigorously.

"Yeah! I mean, how are you s'pposed to keep cool in this anyway?" She waved it around, smacking Tidus in the face.

"Hey! Watch it!" He said, rubbing the red smack mark. Rikku didn't seem to notice.

"Well, let me put it this way. If you went to the mall looking like that, you'd have men crawling all over you." I tilted my head as she looked down, pondering.

"Aw, okay, I'll wear what you want, but only 'cause I'm starting to stink! Okay?" She looked at me, face curled into a pout. I laughed, nodding.

"Okay, you win."

Grabbing the next pair of cloths I laughed, remembering how much I loved picking these out. Looking over at Tidus I smirked, and I swear his face paled.

"Here you go, Tidus."

It was pink. I just couldn't resist it, when I was shuffling through the closets in the house. A neon pink shirt; it was solid material in the chest area but the short sleeves and the stomach was netting. Black leather pants that were tight to the skin but made to be comfortable completed the outfit, except for one thing.

"And this, of course, is your 'bling bling.'"

Holding out a large silver spike necklace I placed it on top of the folded cloths, plopping it down onto his lap. He stared at me, face a light, pale green.

"You want me to wear THAT?" He said, eyes wide. I smiled, shrugging.

"Hey, you always were a ladies man." He stared at me, and then down at his cloths.

"No."

"What, are you afraid of a little pink, ya? Look what I have to wear!" Holding up his punk pants Wakka snarled, shaking his head. Tidus looked at it, mulling it over.

"Hey, do you want to trade?" Wakka's face paled as he pulled his pants closer.

"Naw, tha's okay, ya." Tidus's head drooped and he began to pout, not looking at me. I head him mumble something about 'stupid cloths' and 'girls don't know what real fashion is.' I let it go, but not without some eye rolling.

I spread open the last of my cloths, for Auron of course. I black shirt with a few red lines intertwining along the bottom, his pants were simple faded blue jeans. The shirt had a collar that could be either folded up to a turtle-neck like style, or folded down in a more stylish way. I handed him his cloths and he looked them over, scrutinizing.

"Can I wear my coat with this?" I thought about it, scratching my chin.

"If you take off the neck guard then I don't see why not." He gave me a half-lip smile, and set the cloths aside.

Suddenly, the door to my room busted open, my sister stomping in. Her hair was wet and dripping occasionally on my carpet, and her face was bunched up into a maddened squint. Zach came huddling in behind her, looking over his shoulder at Kimahri, who I had left outside to watch when Zach came out of his room and Emily got done putting on her make-up.

"You... you... YOU'RE LEAVING US WITH HIM?" she screamed in my ear, motioning violently at Kimahri. I backed up a little, not ready for her sudden emotional onslaught. Kimahri shifted a little, but stayed in his cross-armed stance.

"He's scary..." My brother whispered, voice shaky. I looked into my sister's eyes, wide and cold. They were afraid of the Ronso.

Great.

"Look, you guys, he's not..." I lifted myself off my bed and trotted over to Kimahri, who watched me with his small golden eyes. Motioning my sister and brother over to me I saw them huddle together, looking up at the towering creature.

"Kimahri?"

"Yes?"

"Would you ever hurt my little brother or sister?" He looked them over carefully, and then walked closer. I saw my sister tense up and heard my brother whimper as Kimahri bent down to them, looking them over. Giving them each a huge sniff that ruffled their hair he growled a little, almost a purr. Standing he looked back up at me like nothing happened, crossing his arms.

"Kimahri thinks they good people. Kimahri not hurt them."

"And will you protect them from anything that comes through these doors trying to hurt them?" Kimahri nodded, tail encircling their backs.

"Kimahri will protect them with life." I smiled, looking down at my brother and sister. They still seemed weary, eyeing him oddly.

"Can you give them any proof?" Kimahri looked at me, and then back down at them. Turning to them he attempted another smile, his canines shining and his lips pulled back in an odd snarl-like shape. My brother's eyes grew to the size of saucers and my sister backed up, clearly afraid. I slapped my forehead, moaning.

"Don't worry, you guys. Just look at that face, it would scare away anyone."

Kimahri didn't seem very happy with that comment.

Walking back into my room and stopping the small chatter that everyone was having about their outfits, I lead them all to the bathroom, six towels in my hands. Handing one to each person I told Lulu to go first, to relieve her of her tight over shirt.

"Use your own underwear, because I'm definitely not loaning any of you guys mine. Wash your hair with the shampoo over there, and scrub yourself down with the soap. If anyone has to shave, there should be a few razors sitting around somewhere... You have used this stuff before, haven't you?" Everyone nodded, looking solemn.

"Alright, then. As soon as we're all dressed, we'll head down to the mall!" I rubbed my hands together, smiling. But hen I remembered that we had a little problem. Who was going to drive us? Face falling I looked at the six of them, who were watching me.

"Hey, uh, this is going to sound a little stupid, but do any of you guys know how to drive?" Instantly Tidus's hand shot up into the air as he grunted wildly, jumping.

"I do! I do!" I looked at him, remembering how he had acted on the 4-wheeler ride to the grocery store. Did I really want him driving a car? Visions of horrible crashes filled my head and I shuddered, looking away.

"Anybody else?" Auron nodded slowly, looking at me over his sunglasses. I sighed in relief, the sudden horror of Tidus driving seeping out of my body.

"Okay, then, we should be all set. Everyone get scrubbed up, and then we'll get going." The seven people nodded at different intervals, and a sudden sense of dread filled my gut. What was I thinking, bring these guys along into the biggest tourist attraction in Minnesota?

This was going to be a long day...

- - - - -

What will happen when we get to the Mall of America? What will my friend say? How will everyone react? How will my brother and sister like being babysat by a huge, furry blue cat? Am I insane? And where the heck did all those fiends and Seymour go? Don't worry, folks, this story isn't close to being over...

**Rikkoshaye**


	10. Call of the Mall

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8th, 2007_

- - - - -

**- Call of the Mall -**

"Come on! I really want to drive!"

Rolling my eyes one last time I looked over at Tidus, who's whining was worse then my sisters. One hand on his hip he looked at me, lip curled slightly as he 'tsked' loudly. Looking down at his pink net shirt I averted my eyes, putting my hand up to my mouth. It was too much. I couldn't stand it anymore.

I started to laugh.

Shoving past me Tidus stomped down the stairs, his leather pants molding his butt nicely. Too nicely. And combined with the pink... Slumping down on the floor I began to laugh even harder, tears beginning to stream down my eyes. The stress was getting to me. I knew I was going to break pretty soon.

Ah, well. Might as well laugh along the way.

"Are you okay, ya?"

Letting out a few more giggles I looked up at Wakka, who was staring down at me, hair dripping. The bathroom door behind me was open and the hot steam rolled out, making me blink. How hot of a shower did Wakka take?

Looking up into his face I saw him look down at me curiously, the long hair that usually formed his cowlick tucked behind his ears. The rest of his mane was fairly short, sticking up at odd angles. Shaking my head I lowered my eyes, looking down at my hands.

Whoa. Wait a minute.

"WAKKA! WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHS?" Standing up quickly I tried my best to focus just on his face. Looking past him I saw his towel sitting on the bathroom counter, his blue headband laying casually on top. His cloths were still sitting on the toilet, untouched.

Seeing him turn slightly red he shuffled back into the bathroom, muttering a few "sorry's" before shutting the door. Rubbing my eyes I swallowed, trying to get my brain to delete the awful image it had just obtained.

Well, now I knew that he was a true redhead, anyway.

"What happened." It was not a question, but a statement.

Looking behind me I saw Lulu walking up the stairs. She had a look of annoyance on her face, like she knew Wakka had done something stupid. And it wasn't the first time. Rubbing my eyes one last time I looked at her, shaking my head.

"He came out and forgot his...uh..."

"Clothes?" She asked, utterly serious. I nodded, swallowing. I was too young to see this! Why me? Why did I have to go through that torture? Looking down at Lulu I saw a knowing look cross her face as she shook her head.

"He has done that at least ten times on our pilgrimage. I don't know what is with men and dropping their shorts. It is so uncivilized." I watched as Lulu shook her head, one hand pressing into her forehead.

I had to admit, she looked pretty good in the outfit I had gave her. She had added an extra belt around her thigh, most likely taken from her dress. I don't know why she would want a belt around her leg, but I wasn't the one who had to walk around with it.

Shaking my head one last time I walked down the stairs and into the living room. Everyone except for Wakka and Yuna had been cleaned up. I learned that Yuna always went last when they were taking showers. She tended to leave rings.

Sitting down on the couch between Kimahri and Rikku I leaned back, relaxing. I almost thought of calling Sam up and telling her that I was going to be late, because I was bringing a few people with me. Of course, that would lead to asking how many, and I didn't think Sam would like having six extra people tagging along. I decided that what she didn't know would probably be the best for all of us.

"Bathroom's open!"

Wakka trotted down the stairs, rounding the corner and trying not to be all too noticeable. That, of course, didn't work all too well. Everyone was silent for a good three seconds. And then we all started to laugh.

It was better then I thought it would have been. The huge, baggy pants with the chains all rattling and clanking covered up his feet completely, making him almost trip over few steps. The muscle shirt hung fairly loose on him, making the blue outer shirt billow outwards. His bandana completed the look, making him the best punk transformation I had ever seen in my entire life. Laughing hysterically I slowed my breathing to little gasps, trying not to pass out from the strain.

"Wakka..." I gasped, looking at him. "Say one thing for me, will you?" Wakka's face scrunched, and he made his famous 'humph' sound.

"What."

I got up, walking over and whispering into his ear. He looked at me in complete confusion, knotting his eyebrows. I nudged him, looking over at my sister and brother and raising my eyebrows. They looked at Wakka eagerly.

"What's up, foo'. Wakka is in da house!"

It was too much. Everyone burst into laughter, my sister and brother falling on the floor and giggling like crazy. Wakka's face knitted into a look of pure anger and he stalked back upstairs, chains rattling all the way up.

"Yuna! Your turn in the bathroom, ya!" The sentence was laced with anger, and I heard a door slam upstairs. Still snorting I plopped back down on the couch, Rikku leaning onto me for support. She had tears coming out of her eyes.

"That was great! I've never laughed so hard in my life!" Rikku said, laughter fading. I smiled, relaxing back onto the couch as Yuna walked up the stairs.

"Try not to leave too many rings!" I yelled up, gaze fixed onto the TV. The car chase from the second Matrix was currently playing on the screen. The movie seemed to entertain my guests more then I thought it would. Especially Rikku.

"Look at those machina!" She mumbled beside me, eyes huge. I looked at her, cocking my head, and she looked back. "I can't believe there are machina like that in the world!" She pointed to a semi, which was skidding across the road. I nodded at her, pointing to one of the cars as they raced along and exploded.

"That's how we're getting to the Mall of America. One of those things. A car." Her mouth dropped open and her eyes started to sparkle. Lulu, who overheard our conversation, wasn't quite as happy.

"And you're sure we aren't going to explode on the way?" She glared at me, arms crossed. I shook my head.

"No, no, of course not. Cars don't usually explode. They just sort of... glide along." I motioned a little with my hands, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Is there any other way to this... Mall of America?" I shook my head, laughing.

"Not unless you want to take the 4-wheeler the whole way." I saw Tidus visibly shutter and swallow loudly. Lulu grimaced and looked back at the screen, saying nothing.

This was going to be one interesting trip.

- -

"So... how are we going to fit into this thing?"

Rubbing my temple I looked down into the open door my mom's Mustang, and then at Auron who was sitting in the driver's seat. I had totally forgot that there were only four seats in the car, this including the driver seat. Kimahri stood at the door leading into the house, my sister and brother edging away from him. The others were clustered behind me, waiting for me answer. I 'hmmed', only one option coming to mind.

"I guess we're going to have to sit on each other's laps."

Everyone looked horrified.

"What?"

"No way."

"No, ya!"

"I refuse."

"Are you sure that this is the only way?"

I turned to Yuna, who was looking at me with empty eyes. I nodded, face pulled into a grimace.

"Yeah, that is the only way. Unless a few of you want to be strapped to the top of the car, and a few on the bottom." The group looked at me, faces pulled into looks of terror. I 'tsked,' shaking me head. "I'm just kidding..." Their faces relaxed and I turned to the car. Pointing to the back seat I turned to Tidus, nodding.

"Tidus, you'll sit behind Auron, with Yuna on your lap." I saw Tidus look at Yuna and actually giggled as he fingered his pink shirt unconsciously. Climbing into the car he looked rather comfortable as Yuna settled into his lap. I saw my sister scowling through the window.

"Wakka, you'll sit behind the passenger seat with Lulu on you lap." Wakka let a little smile slip past his lips, but quickly let it go as Lulu began to stare daggers at him. Sliding into the seat he 'oomphed' as Lulu sat down rather hard on his legs, causing him a good amount of pain. I wondered faintly if she'd be alright, or if Wakka was a bad choice for her to sit on.

"If you lay one hand on me, I'll rip it right off, finger by finger."

Nope, she was fine.

"I guess that just leaves me and Rikku." I turned to the happy hic, shrugging. "You want top or bottom." Rikku laughed, clearly excited to be in such a large machine.

"The top, silly! How would I see other machina if I was on the bottom?" I looked sideways at Auron, who rolled his eyes visibly. Sighing I slipped into the car, and tried not to grunt as she plopped herself onto my lap.

"Okay, Kimahri, open the... garage door..." I swallowed, re-shifting myself so that Rikku was more on my legs and not my diaphragm. Kimahri reached out a blue hand and pushed the garage door button, the loud noise echoing into the garage.

"What's that, ya?" Wakka said, jumping. I loud clunk followed, and then an echoing smack. I heard Wakka whimper and I looked back, a huge hand mark on his face. Lulu was rubbing her head and looking up at the car roof, scowling. I just shook my head and turned back as Auron started up the car.

Wakka's whimpers filled the vehicle. I chose to ignore them.

Backing out of the garage everyone tried to put on seatbelts, but it was nearly impossible. I watched my brother and sister stare at us with wide eyes as Kimahri closed the door again, stoic as ever.

We were finally on our way, two hours after my friend had called. And for the first time during the last two days I looked the whole gang over, finally wondering what the hell I was doing. And, I slowly began to realize the truth.

I had absolutely no idea.

- -

It was a godsend that we didn't get pulled over on the way to the mall. I was stuck gasping the whole way as Rikku jumped and fidgeted, commenting on the semis and traffic lights and even a plane that flew by.

Wakka whimpered constantly, actually screaming when Rikku mentioned the plane. It was more of a girl scream then anything, with a little touch of besaidian accent. Lulu slapped him soon after, complaining about her eardrums.

Tidus and Yuna were mumbling to each other the whole way, various giggles and little flirty screeches coming from that side of the car from time to time. Wakka and Lulu kept their gaze averted, and Auron winced every time he had to look in the review mirror. I kept staring at Rikku's back, thinking about how jealous my sister would be if she could see them.

Finally, an hour after we had set out, I could see the signs marking our arrival at the mall. As we came closer I could hear various mumblings of amazement at the larger highways and buildings, but nothing compared to the squeals Lulu, Rikku and Yuna emitted as I pointed out the approaching mall.

"We get to shop in THAT!?"

I nodded, smiling. My parents had left some money for the trip, and I had been saving up for a while. Patting my pocket I smiled, wondering what I would spend my 250 dollars on. Shifting a little I heard my back crack as Auron turned the car into the parking lot, pulling into an empty spot a ways away from the door. I couldn't get out of their fast enough, my back aching from Rikku's weight.

"On the way back, you're sitting on the bottom..."

Grabbing his jacket Auron pulled the red trench coat over his shoulders, adjusting it quickly and slipping one arm through the sleeve, the other slung inside. I turned to him, frowning.

"Do you have to go in there like that? It's kind of... odd." I watched him fix me with his piercing stare, his eyes just peeking over the ridge of his glasses.

"Yes."

And that was that.

Turning around I saw Wakka stagger out of the car, his face red with slap marks. Tidus slipped out after him, almost running into Lulu and giggling at Yuna, who had climbed out the other side. I shook my head in exasperation, stepping closer to Auron and farther away from all the other idiots I was stuck with.

"Come on you guys, let's do this."

We must have looked kind of funny, walking up the parking lot. Kind of like a gang. A man with his arm inside a red trench coat, some kid wearing a pink shirt, a punk with a cowlick, a girl with braids going down to her butt, and a seemingly normal high school ditz, hanging off the pink weirdo. I was the only normal one, leading them all like a pack of dogs.

As we reached the entrance I stopped and turned, giving then all my most serious face. Everyone except for Auron was visibly in awe over the largeness of the building, even Auron's eyes flicking upwards every minute or so. Putting my hands on my hips I commanded their attention, cocking my head toward the building.

"Alright, people. We are about to enter the biggest mall in the U.S.A." They all looked at me oddly and my eyes widened, realizing my mistake. "In Spira! I mean, the America in Spira. You know what I mean." I laughed nervously, hoping they didn't make any connections.

"Now, I don't want anyone freaking out..." I looked over at Lulu, Rikku and Yuna, who were all giggling. "And I want you all to stick close. It's easy to get lost in this place." I looked over at Tidus and Wakka, glaring.

"Are you ready?"

They nodded, looking at me sternly.

"Let's get this over with."

- -

"Holy mother of Yevon."

I wasn't sure exactly who said it, but I was sure we all agreed. Every time I came to the mall I always marveled at it. It was just simply the most gigantic collection of stores I had ever seen. But for most of the people around me, it was a million times bigger then anything they had ever seen. Everyone stared with wide eyes, and I was surprised to see Auron move his sunglasses down a bit to get a better view. Shaking my head I moved forward, listening as everyone began to follow.

"Come on you guys! Lets go find Sam!"

- - - - -

Will Sam flip when I show up with an extra six people? How are my sister and brother doing? Where's Seymour? What horrible things will happen in this mall? Will I ever get out of this mess? Stay tuned!

**Rikkoshaye**


	11. Monster Mania

**Misplaced**

_By: Rikkoshaye_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies._

_Updated August 8th, 2007_

**- - - - -**

**- Monster Mania -**

"Come on you guys! Let's go find Sam!"

And then everything went to hell.

Screams suddenly erupted throughout the mall, cutting through the silence that had fallen in the building. No, it wasn't my imagination. Time did not stop, but all the people had. Stopped and stared at the huge creature that had lumbered into the main part of the building. No, not a creature.

A fiend.

It was a Behemoth King. As I stared up at it, I realized that it was bigger then I thought it would be. And that it had no right being here in the real world. But I doubted there was anything I could do about it, anyway. Someone screamed again, a lonely women in a sea of stunned people. Unfortunately, it caught the Behemoth's attention.

And that, I presumed, was bad.

Cocking its head the monster turned slowly toward the sound, its mane waving softly. The animal's huge tail whipped across the floor, knocking a few people over and sending one into a wall. Suddenly, everyone decided that maybe this thing wasn't suppose to be here.

Chaos erupted.

The stores echoed with collective screams as everyone went running, sending the fiend roaring itself. The sound was so loud; I thought my eardrums would pop. It just made everyone else run faster.

I turned, almost too slowly, toward my six followers. I knew I must have looked like I had seen a ghost. In reality, I had. Or a shell of a ghost, anyway. All their eyes were set on the creature, faces grim. I noticed, painfully, that none of them seemed to have any sort of weapon. Still, they seemed determined. Except for Tidus, that is. His face was white and pasty, and his eyes were closed tight. Leaning closer I noticed he was whimpering.

Great. He was afraid of fiends. Somehow, it didn't surprise me.

Tidus suddenly wavered, and Yuna automatically put a hand out as he fell to the ground in a heap. We all stared at him, the others obviously not surprised by Tidus's actions.

"Does he do this often?" Cynthia asked, staring at him.

Lulu nodded. "Almost every time." Sighing I rolled my eyes, and watched as Yuna put a hand to Tidus's forehead and rubbed the skin a little. Eyes snapping open Tidus sat up suddenly, gasping. Lulu turned to us again, shaking her head. "Someone touching him usually brings him back to his senses. It's pathetic, even for him."

"OH MY GAWD!"

Snapping my head around I saw a man run across the mall, the Behemoth looking at him curiously. Lifting a clawed hand it swept it leisurely at the man, whacking him across the head and sending blood everywhere. I heard a thump behind me and a collective groan from my guests as the mall erupted into hundreds of screams. Tidus had fainted again. And, a man was dead.

Shit.

Turning around I looked at the five warriors behind me. Walking up to them I scowled, stomping a foot on the ground. Another turret of screams echoed through the mall, and I saw everyone's face whiten a tad. Everyone's but Auron's that is. Taking a deep breath I put my hands on my hips.

"Alright, everyone. We have a fiend on the loose! You're the warriors!" They all just stared at me, faces blank. I growled.

"Fight it!"

I have never seen so many mouths drop open at the same time. Even Auron looked at me over his glasses, a twinge of disbelief in his eyes. I squirmed a little as the group stared at me. But at least none of them were laughing. Well, besides Wakka. Looking at me like I was crazy he stifled his laughter and managed to spit out a few words.

"With what, ya?"

He had a good point, I realized. My mind flashed back to the pile of weapons, all sitting safe and sound in my house. Even Wakka had put his trusty blitzball back before we left. It would have looked very suspicious in a mall, that much was true. After a minute of thinking and focusing on the random screams that coursed through the building, I finally threw up my hands and shook my head.

"I don't know! But, you can't let this... this monster keep killing people!" I saw Yuna's eyes harden as she nodded slowly with my comment.

"She's right. We have to fight it! Right?" Everyone, including me and Cynthia, looked at Yuna. She stepped back a little, apparently a little flustered. Yet another chorus of screams began to emanate from the crowd, and I heard a large thump behind me. Blood splattered across the cool tile, and the Behemoth King's roar drowned out everything for a good thirty seconds. We had to do something, and fast.

"Yuna's right. We need to fight that thing." Lulu said, nodding at Yuna. Slowly she stepped forward, raising her hands. I almost slapped myself in the forehead, I had totally forgot. Lulu knew magic! We were saved!

And then I just happened to remember that there is no such thing as magic in the_ real_ world.

"What's wrong?" Auron was gazing intently at Lulu, whose arms were raised in a standard magic attack. But nothing was happening, and I knew by the looks on everyone's faces that their stomachs had just dropped to the soles of their feet. No magic, no weapons. What was left? But, I had no time to ponder this question.

In almost slow motion, I saw the Behemoth King's eyes focus on Lulu, its lips folding back to show large, sharp teeth. We couldn't stand up to this thing. It was huge! What had I been thinking?

Snarling the fiend lifted its head high, gazing momentarily at the ceiling. Rising on its back legs it extended its claws as far as they would go, and then snapped its head back to look at Lulu, who was trembling slightly below it. If we were going to do anything, now was the time. Screams erupted from the people who were still in the monster's vicinity as the fiend raised its claws, getting ready to strike.

"Sara! RUN!"

Snapping out of my daze I saw everyone begin to run. Tidus was draped unceremoniously over Auron's shoulder, his head snapping forcefully against Auron's back with every step. Wakka had already bolted, a look of pure terror in his eyes as he glanced at the dead bodies and blood that were scattered on the ground. Yuna was crying, while being pushed along by Lulu who was following behind her. Rikku was the one who had yelled for me, running like mad for the exit.

Taking one last look at the fiend I gulped and started to run, the large claw swooping down after me like a bull after a red blanket. With Lulu out of the fiend's range, it went for the next closest thing.

Me.

Closing my eyes I ran blindly, waiting for the huge paw that would crush me like a bug. The large claw that would pick me up and squish me, sending my guts flying everywhere. The mouth that would grind my bones into splinters and swallow me down into the large acidic pit below.

But, it never came.

BOOOOM!!!

Opening my eyes I smacked right into Rikku's back, which sent me flying onto my butt and moaning. Dazed and disoriented I slumped against the floor, my sight full of stars. My first solid thought was that the fiend had missed me, that large claw probably smashing into the cool tile instead.

Boom!

Boom boom!

Boomboomboomboom!

BOOOOM!

It took me a second to realize that the fiend didn't have nearly enough hands to make that many booming noises so quickly. Rolling my eyes upward I saw police officers poring into the mall, guns pointed at the monster, a few already firing. But I had no time to sigh in relief.

Picking me up by the waist Wakka planted me securely back on my feet, pushing me toward the door as everyone began to run again. Taking the hint I used my shaky legs and started running, using the last of my energy to take me right back to the car.

If everyday life in Spira was just like this, I doubted I could have handled it. Just one fiend swiping a paw at me had scared me more then I would ever admit. And Sin on top of it? I had a whole new respect for the whole population of Spira.

They had to deal with a whole lot of shit.

- -

"Emily, what are we doing?"

"Shut up Zach! You know what we're doing. We're playing hide and go seek."

"Yeah, I know, but then why aren't we looking for Kimahri?"

Emily gazed at Zach like he was the stupidest person on the planet, finally looking back at the TV and changing the channel once again. Zach was sitting on the couch next to her, huddled in a little ball and looking around suspiciously.

The three of them had been playing hide and go seek for a good two hours now. At first, they had decided that they would have Kimahri be the seeker, and that they would find such a good hiding place that Kimahri wouldn't be able to find them until after their sister got home. But, after Kimahri had used his nose and found them five times in a row, they decided that they were too afraid to face that large blue cat with his huge, monster-like smile.

And so, for the last hour and a half, Emily and Zach had both been the seeker, letting Kimahri rot away in wherever he had found to hide.

"Shouldn't we go look for him?"

Emily sighed again and looked at Zach, shaking her head.

"No, we shouldn't. Do you want him to 'smile' at us anymore?"

Zach visibly shivered, thoughts of the large cat's pearly whites filling his mind. Whimpering he shook his head, gazing back at the screen. But he soon thought of another question.

"If he gets mad at us, do you think he'll eat us?"

Emily frowned at Zach, thinking intently.

"I don't think so. Besides, how would we make him mad?"

Zach thought about this for a few seconds before answering.

"Well, he might get mad since we haven't tried to find him for hide and seek."

Emily's eyes opened wide as she thought about this. Voice going shaky she swallowed, setting the remote control for the TV on the arm of the couch.

"You don't think he'll... you know?"

Zach whimpered again. "I dunno... will he?"

- -

Sighing intently I leaned back, trying my best to get my heart to stop beating so fast. Putting my hands over my head I closed my eyes, focusing on the bumps and weavings of the car as we sped down the road. _'Hey, I could get used to this...'_ I thought dully, sighing again. _'In fact, I'm kind of sleepy...'  
_  
"Sara... I'm sorry to... bug you... and all... but could you... stop... leaning on... me?"

Opening my eyes quickly I leaned forward, face red. Looking down I saw Rikku below me, face flushed and puffing. I had totally forgotten she was under me, and nearly squished her to death.

"Are you okay?" I said, looking into her dazed eyes. Waving a hand she laughed brokenly, shaking her head slightly.

"Oh yeah, fine... Just let me... get my breath... back..." Sighing I left her to wheeze herself back into existence as I looked out the window, listening to the shuffles of the people in the backseat. Everyone was quiet, thinking about the Behemoth King that had shown up in the most unlikely of places. I shifted, uncomfortable. Perhaps everyone would be more at ease if it wasn't so quiet in the car…

I was going to turn on the radio.

Leaning forward I felt everyone's eyes snap onto me. _'Gees, it's like I'm something you look at in a zoo...' _I thought to myself. Putting my finger on the power button I just figured I'd turn it onto a nice, peaceful station-

BA, BABABA-BOOM! NANANA-KOOM! BOOM-BA-NA-KA-CHOOOOOOMM!"

The car jerked suddenly to the right and everyone was thrown to the left side of the car, hands going up to their ears as they tried to get rid of the loud, screeching noise. Wakka actually began to scream as Auron tried jerking the car back on track, but the blitzer was silenced quickly as a slap louder then the raging music connected with his skin.

Fumbling for the power button I managed to squish Rikku in the process, hearing her painful moan emanate from under me. _'What kind of music does my mom listen to!?' _I thought to myself wildly, trying not to hurt Rikku anymore then I already had. Hitting the button just as Auron was able to get the car back on track we all sighed in collective relief, ears ringing from the awful noise.

Leaning forward I let Rikku breathe, and Wakka's whimpers continued from behind my seat. Turning around I saw a whole hand mark right over the middle of his face, one of his eyes shut painfully where a fingernail had gotten involved. Grimacing I looked at the others, who had taken up staring at me.

"What was _that_?" Lulu spat, sitting with her arms crossed. I shrugged and looked at them all, not sure what to say.

"Well, it was music-"

"Music? You call that music!?" I looked over at a red-faced Tidus, who was puffing heavily from under Yuna. Smiling in embarrassment I shrugged again, turning back into my seat.

When would we get home?

- -

"Emily? Zachary? Kimahri can not find."

Padding along the hallway Kimahri sniffed the air for a sign of them, face stoic as usual. Flicking his tail he gave another large sniff, but came up with nothing. After an hour and a half of hiding, Kimahri wasn't sure if Emily and Zach were looking for him anymore. But he had waited it out, and eventually the two shaking humans had found his hiding place. They had congratulated him on hiding for so long, and asked him if he would like to play a 'special hide and go seek' game.

The only thing that had changed was that he could only search for them upstairs, and that he had to plug his ears and count to 1,000 instead of just 50. He had agreed.

Now he wasn't so sure if that had been such a good idea.

After counting (which had taken quite a while since he was a little rusty on chanting anything over 500) he had found that an odd sort of flower-like smell had blossomed in the air. What was worse was that he couldn't smell the two young humans anywhere, and he had looked in every hiding space he knew of at least twice.

He had even attempted his smile, which he was sure the two children loved, trying his best to lure them out of their hiding spot. But still the humans stayed hidden.

Sitting down cross-legged at the top of the stairs he glanced downward, tempted to search the bottom floor too. But, he had promised that he wouldn't, and so he sniffed at the air again, attempting to mentally follow the flower-like scent.

He noticed dully that it seemed to stream down the stairs and through the front door, which was opened just a crack. It was like whatever had been wearing the scent had went down the stairs and out the door. But he couldn't be sure because the cool air that was filtering into the house was distorting the smell. He figured it was probably a coincidence, and stood up one more time.

"Maybe Kimahri miss spot." Kimahri said to himself, walking down the hall and into the room where all the weapons were piled. And so he started his search again, determined to find the two children that were hiding so very well.

- -

"Wait, Zach, turn that back for a second!"

Grabbing the TV remote Emily huddled on the step, switching backwards two channels. Scowling at her little brother's protests she held the remote out of his reach, smirking at him. It was her idea, of course, to put on all the perfume and walk out the door and into the garage. They had everything they needed in there, including food and a TV. If they were lucky, the large cat would stay upstairs until he found them.

Which would be never, of course.

Gazing intently at the TV the two siblings watched as the breaking news anchor began telling what had happened at a certain mall. And, as the story continued, both Emily and Zach began to feel dread in the pit of their stomachs.

"This is Jim Anderson reporting live for ABC news. According to witnesses, tragedy struck at the Mall of America earlier today. A large animal, which many people are calling a sort of 'monster' went on a rampage in the innermost shopping center. No one is sure how this animal may have gotten into the mall. Kate has the exclusive report."

"Thank you Jim. Now, from what our correspondents have been able to gather, no one is quite sure where this animal came from, nor what type of creature it actually was. Witnesses all agree, however, that the creature was large, it was angry, and it was probably infected with rabies, given its actions. Three people have been declared dead, and a few more have yet to be found. Police squads were called on scene, and from what we know right now, the animal has been taken care of. An odd story at the very least, wouldn't you say, Jim?"

"Yes it is. We will most certainly be going into further detail as more information is uncovered. Thank you, Kate."

The TV then went black as Emily switched it off, shaking. Looking at each other Emily and Zach both swallowed, hugging their knees to their chest.

"Is Sara okay, Emily?" Zach said shakily, looking at her with tear-filled eyes. But Emily couldn't answer, because she didn't know herself.

They would just have to wait and see.

- - - - -

Don't worry Emily, Zach! Your sister is okay! But now it seems we have even bigger problems! Will I be able to get these people back into their game before more things happen? Will Kimahri figure out where his hide and go seek players went? Will Lulu ever stop slapping Wakka? You're just going to have to wait until the next chapter to find out!

**Rikkoshaye**


End file.
